THE  NEW  WORLD  , 

movement; 

4 

V . , , * 


K&rl  Kino  t3apli^tGrnv6,nl 





THE 

NEW  WORLD  MOVEMENT 

OF  THE. 

NORTHERN  BAPTIST  CONVENTION 


THE  GENERAL  BOARD  OF  PROMOTION 
OF  THE  NORTHERN  BAPTIST  CONVENTION 

J.  Y.  AITCHISON,  General  Director 


1919 


FOREWORD 


We  have  been  dreaming  of  a new  day.  It  has  not  yet 
dawned.  It  is  not  too  late  to  usher  it  in.  If  it  comes  it 
will  be  because  the  spirit  and  passion  of  Christ  possess 
the  heart  of  mankind.  This  will  be  possible,  as  multi- 
tudes of  those  who  already  bear  his  Name  carry  his  spirit 
in  all  relationships  with  their  fellowmen.  To  help  stimu- 
late this  spirit  and  spread  this  passion  and  usher  in  this 
new  day,  the  New  World  Movement  has  been  organized 
among  Northern  Baptists.  To  explain  the  purpose  and 
the  methods  of  this  New  World  Movement  this  little  book 
is  sent  forth. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Challenge  of  the  Present  Crisis,  by  Ernest  D.  Burton,  . . 7 

The  New  World  Movement  by  Northern  Baptists,  by  J.  Y.  Aitch- 
ison,  . . . . . . . . . . .17 

A Survey  of  the  Survey,  by  James  A.  Clarke,  ....  23 

The  Mission  of  the  Church,  by  Mrs.  Lathan  A.  Crandall,  . . 43 

The  Local  Church  Program,  by  A.  W.  Beaven,  . . . .56 

The  Enlistment  of  Life,  by  P.  H.  J.  Lerrigo,  . . . .69 

Prayer,  the  Dynamic  of  the  New  World  Movement,  by  Charles 

W.  Gilkey, 84 

Christianizing  the  Nation’s  Bank  Roll,  by  Edwin  M.  Poteat,  92 

Ministerial  Compensation,  by  D.  C.  Shull,  .....  100 

Present  Day  Evangelism,  by  James  A.  Francis,  ....  104 


‘ 


THE  NEW  WORLD  MOVEMENT 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  PRESENT  CRISIS 


BY  ERNEST  D.  BURTON 


That  there  is  a crisis  no  intelligent  American  will  deny. 
In  a sense  we  are  always  facing  a crisis.  History  is  never 
stagnant.  Every  day  is  a judgment  day,  because  we  are 
always  making  decisions  which  are  fraught  with  impor- 
tant consequences  for  the  future.  It  is  only  relatively 
that  there  are  areas  of  calm  in  the  stream  of  history. 
But  we  speak  without  exaggeration  when  we  call  the 
present  hour  an  exceptionally  important  and  critical  one 
in  the  history  of  America  and  of  American  Christianity. 

In  a sense  at  least  the  war  is  over,  and  down  from  the 
mountain  tops  of  exaltation,  enthusiasm  and  self-sacrifice, 
on  which  for  two  years  we,  as  a nation,  lived,  we  have 
plunged  into  the  valley  of  commonplace,  of  money-getting, 
of  self-seeking,  and  of  partisanship,  with  a speed  that 
none  of  us  could  have  believed  possible  a year  ago.  Per- 
haps we  sometimes  forget  that  before  we  entered  the  war 
we  were  not  wholly  at  peace  with  one  another,  and  not 
wholly  unselfish  in  our  aims  and  undertakings.  Was 
there  not  in  1914  a problem  of  the  rising  cost  of  living? 
Were  there  not  excess,  if  not  excessive,  profits  in  1915? 
Was  there  not  class  strife  and  were  there  not  threatened 
strikes  in  1916?  In  large  part  we  have  but  resumed  life 
where  it  was  interrupted  by  our  participation  in  the  war. 


7 


But  doubtless,  also,  we  have  resumed  it  with  a new  in- 
tensity that  is  in  part  the  result  of  the  reaction  from  the 
extraordinary  conditions  that  existed  during  the  war. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  present  situation  undoubtedly 
presents  to  the  American  nation  and  especially  to  Amer- 
ican Christianity  a challenge  which  will  test  both  to  the 
utmost. 


A Challenge  to  Intelligence 

First  of  all  it  challenges  our  intelligence.  It  will  dis- 
cover whether  as  a nation,  as  a church,  we  know  enough, 
are  intelligent  enough,  to  deal  with  problems  of  such  mag- 
nitude as  now  face  us,  in  a world  that  is  larger  and  more 
complex  than  any  we  have  hitherto  known.  Certainly 
it  is  not  reassuring  to  witness  great  masses  of  men  deter- 
mining their  actions  by  maxims  which  only  thinly  dis- 
guise the  assumption  that  diminished  production  increases 
wealth,  that  when  each  acre  yields  half  as  much  wheat, 
each  of  us  will  have  twice  as  much  bread;  or  that  there  is 
a store  of  wealth  out  of  which  to  pay  wages  which  re- 
mains undiminished  when  production  ceases  or  is  reduced 
by  one-half  or  two-thirds.  But  if  such  ignorance  of  the 
first  principles  of  economics  surprises  us,  are  we  prepared 
with  the  corrective  of  it?  Do  we  know  just  how  to  make 
it  clear  to  our  fellow  toilers  how  they  can  secure  their 
share  of  the  golden  egg  that  labor  lays  without  destroy- 
ing the  goose  that  lays  it?  Is  ignorance  wholly  on  the 
side  of  laborers  and  strikers,  or  is  there  a widespread 
cloudiness  of  mind,  to  say  the  least,  — a cloudiness  which 
is  no  longer  a matter  of  theoretic  interest  to  education, 
but  an  actual  cause  of  strife  and  bloodshed? 

But  if  these  things  disquiet  us,  is  it  any  less  disquieting 
to  read  in  newspapers  that  are  supposed  to  represent  the 
brains  of  the  country,  arguments  whose  underlying  prem- 
ise, often  openly  expressed,  is  that  America  can  now 
return  to  the  measure  of  isolation  that  was  possible  at 


8 


the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century?  There  is  room,  no 
doubt,  for  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  our  participation  in  the  affairs  of  nations  across 
the  seas.  But  that  all  the  marvelous  things  that  have 
happened  in  a century  in  bringing  the  nations  to  closer 
quarters  one  with  another,  and  that  our  own  enormous 
increase  in  population,  wealth,  power  and  influence  can 
have  come  about  and  not  imperatively  demand  of  us, 
whether  we  choose  it  or  not,  a different  course  of  action 
from  that  which  was  possible  and  right  in  the  days  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson, — this  is  unthinkable.  But  if 
our  policy  is  to  be  different,  what  is  it  to  be?  What  are 
to  be  its  broad  principles?  What  are  to  be  its  specific  ap- 
plications? Have  we  studied  history  thoroughly  enough, 
do  we  know  our  own  history  and  that  of  other  nations 
well  enough  to  answer  these  questions?  Are  we  not  right 
in  saying  that  the  present  situation  challenges,  and  coming 
days  will  challenge,  our  intelligence  as  it  has  not  been 
challenged  before? 

But  it  is  not  in  the  realm  of  economics  and  politics  only 
that  intelligence  is  demanded.  The  aspects  of  life  that 
are  distinctly  religious  — the  tasks  of  the  church — are 
no  less  important  than  those  of  politics  and  business,  and 
call  no  less  loudly  for  intelligence  and  thought.  We  can- 
not, for  example,  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  prob- 
lem of  the  relationships  of  Christian  denominations  to 
one  another  has  reached  a stage  which  demands  earnest 
thought  and  the  wdsest  possible  action. 

The  union  of  the  allied  forces  at  the  suggestion  of  Gen- 
eral Pershing  and  under  the  leadership  of  Marshal  Foch 
turned  the  tide  of  war  in  favor  of  the  Allies,  saved  thou- 
sands of  lives  and  hastened  the  coming  of  peace.  Not  less 
significant  would  be  the  union  of  Christian  forces  in  the 
war  for  righteousness.  As  Baptists  we  have  put  ourselves 
on  record  against  organic  union.  Grant  that  in  this  we 
were  wise.  Let  no  one  imagine  that  a negative  utterance 


9 


is  the  measure  of  our  duty.  No  intelligent  Christian  can 
fail  to  see  that  a Christendom  united  in  action  would  be 
far  stronger  than  a divided  Christianity.  Since  organic 
union  is  not  practicable,  as  many  of  us  believe  it  is  not, 
it  is  incumbent  on  us  to  find  what  measure  or  kind  of 
unity  or  co-operation  is  feasible.  We  have  given  our 
adherence  to  the  Inter-Church  World  Movement  on  con- 
ditions that  have  been  accepted  in  a broad  and  generous 
Christian  spirit  by  our  brethren  whose  judgment  would 
have  named  different  conditions.  It  is  now  incumbent  on 
us  to  do  our  utmost  to  see  that  the  plan  as  our  action  has 
defined  it  is  practically  successful  (or  that  we  find  our 
way  through  this  to  a better  plan).  The  task  is  a difficult 
one.  It  certainly  is.  Therefore  we  say  it  challenges  our 
intelligence,  demands  our  largest  possible  contribution  of 
consecrated  brain  power. 

The  Challenge  of  Missions 

Not  less  certainly  does  the  task  of  the  church  in  foreign 
lands  challenge  us.  Never  since  the  days  of  Paul  has  a 
universal  religion  seemed  so  within  the  range  of  practical 
possibilities  as  it  does  to-day.  All  barriers  are  down.  All 
doors  are  open.  All  religions  are  in  the  melting  pot.  All 
systems  are  being  tried  by  the  test  of  their  effects.  If,  as 
we  believe,  Christianity  is  adapted  to  the  whole  human 
race,  if  it  can  solve  the  perplexities,  meet  the  needs,  and 
promote  the  welfare  of  all  nations,  now  is  the  opportunity 
of  its  adherents  as  never  before  to  prove  this  and  to  win 
their  way  among  all  peoples.  Never  were  the  motives 
for  the  spread  of  pure  religion  so  strong  as  they  are  to-day. 
The  nations  of  the  earth  can  no  longer  live  in  ignorance 
of  one  another,  or  in  indifference  to  one  another.  The 
foreign  missionary  is  no  longer  the  ambassador  of  a chi- 
merical idea,  the  apostle  of  a forlorn  hope,  an  enthusiast 
to  be  admired  and  smiled  at.  He  is  the  representative 
not  only  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  of  international 


10 


good-will;  the  creator  not  only  of  Christian  churches,  but 
of  all  international  civilization;  not  a sectarian  ecclesi- 
astic, but  an  ambassador  of  all  communions  and  a world 
statesman.  His  work,  and  not  less  the  work  of  those 
agencies  that  send  him  out  and  stand  behind  him,  calls 
for  breadth  of  vision  and  of  sympathy,  for  courageous 
planning,  for  patient  and  wise  execution.  It  challenges 
the  intelligence  of  the  church  as  it  never  was  challenged 
before. 


The  Challenge  of  Character 

But  more  serious  even  than  the  challenge  of  our  intelli- 
gence is  the  challenge  of  our  character.  With  all  our 
ignorance,  we  know  at  least  that  He  whom  the  Christian 
Church  calls  Lord  announced  the  principle  of  love  as  that 
which  ought  to  govern  in  all  the  relations  between  men 
and  men.  We  know  that  He  bade  us  love  our  neighbors 
as  ourselves,  even  though  those  neighbors  be  hostile  to  us, 
and  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  us.  The  church  has  proclaimed  these  principles. 
Christians  profess  allegiance  to  them.  The  nation  has  at 
least  heard  them.  Yet  day  after  day  we  read  in  our  great 
daily  papers,  which  for  a little  time  seemed  to  have  ac- 
cepted nobler  principles,  the  open  advocacy  of  the  crassest 
national  selfishness,  and,  what  is  more  disheartening,  find 
such  advocacy  approved  by  Christian  men.  Not  only  so, 
but  what  comes  still  closer  home  is  the  painful  evidence 
on  every  hand  that  in  a day  of  rising  prices,  and  profits 
increased  in  dollars  at  least,  the  determination  to  grasp 
for  one’s  self  and  one’s  associates  is,  in  alarmingly  wide 
circles,  stronger  than  the  desire  to  do  justice  to  all  whether 
of  our  class  or  of  another. 

During  the  war,  under  the  stimulus  of  our  own  danger 
as  a nation,  and  of  the  splendid  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  for 
the  world’s  welfare  with  which  many  of  our  sons  and 
daughters  gave  themselves  to  the  service  of  mankind,  it 


11 


seemed  as  if  we  had  seen  a great  light  and  accepted  a 
nobler  principle  of  action  than  had  hitherto  governed  us. 
The  nation  seemed  almost  to  have  adopted  as  its  own  the 
principle  which  had  been  the  great  motive  of  the  mission- 
ary enterprise  of  the  Christian  church.  Are  we  to  lose  all 
that  we  seemed  to  have  gained?  Or  after  the  days  of 
reaction  that  are  so  apt  to  come  after  a time  of  great 
struggle,  will  the  church  address  itself  with  renewed 
energy  to  its  task  of  giving  of  its  best  to  all  nations  of  the 
world,  and  shall  that  spirit  of  good-will  to  all  nations, 
which  we  dreamed  was  in  a measure  pervading  our  whole 
people,  again  assert  itself?  It  is  a grave  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  the  Christian  church  at  this  hour.  The 
church  is  the  peculiar  representative  and  custodian  of 
the  missionary  spirit,  — the  spirit  of  good-will  toward 
other  races.  It  is  the  task  of  the  church  not  only  to  express 
that  spirit  in  the  sending  of  preachers  of  the  Gospel  and 
physicians  and  teachers  to  other  nations,  but  so  to  incul- 
cate it  at  home  that  it  shall  become  the  keynote  of  our 
international  policy.  Whether  the  church  sees  and  meets 
its  responsibility,  whether  it  succeeds  or  fails  in  this  great 
task,  will  mightily  affect  the  whole  future  of  the  world, 
not  in  respect  to  religion  only  but  in  reference  to  every 
aspect  of  human  welfare.  The  immediate  future  is  big 
with  possibilities  of  good  and  evil. 

Some  Vital  Questions 

Nationally,  internationally,  economically,  ecclesiasti- 
cally, all  things  are  shaken,  and  they  have  not  yet  settled 
down  into  their  new  situation.  Are  we  entering  into  a 
period  of  national  antagonisms,  strife  and  selfishness, 
which  will  make  all  the  enormous  costs  of  the  war  in  life 
and  treasure  and  the  monuments  of  civilization  sheer  un- 
compensated loss,  or  out  of  the  present  welter  shall  we 
emerge  on  at  least  a little  higher  level  than  that  which  we 
occupied  in  that  fool’s  paradise  in  which  we  were  living  in 


12 


July,  1914?  Is  the  life  of  our  nation  to  be  rent  and  torn 
by  strife  of  classes,  a war  of  wealth  and  workers  that  shall 
embitter  all  our  lives  and  those  of  our  children  after  us, 
or  shall  the  voice  of  reason  and  of  justice  and  of  love 
make  itself  heard  above  the  clamor  of  selfishness  and  ig- 
norance, and  there  emerge  a higher  type  of  national  life 
than  we  have  hitherto  known?  Shall  the  churches  em- 
phasize their  minor  differences,  struggle  for  pre-eminence 
and  self-aggrandizement,  or  will  they  see  their  larger  op- 
portunity and  their  common  duty,  and,  while  if  not  in 
organic  union  yet  in  cordial  co-operation  in  the  things 
for  which  they  labor  in  common,  attack  together  their 
common  task  of  making  a world  dominated  by  the  spirit 
of  Jesus? 

The  Duty  of  the  Church 

Facing  these  questions,  what  is  the  duty  of  the  church? 
It  is  not  the  only  agency  to  which  this  situation  addresses 
a challenge.  What  is  its  task? 

First,  it  is  incumbent  upon  the  church  in  every  possible 
way,  by  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  by  the  printed  page, 
by  the  conduct  of  its  members,  to  announce  with  unmis- 
takable clearness  the  great  principles  of  Jesus.  The  values 
of  the  world  are  in  human  lives.  All  men,  all  women,  all 
children  are  valuable,  — infinitely  so.  All  are  entitled  to 
a fair  share  of  the  goods  of  life.  Human  slavery  in  every 
form  is  unchristian.  The  civilization  that  sacrifices  per- 
sonalities to  things,  or  the  welfare  of  the  many  to  the 
greed  of  the  few,  is  unchristian  and  is  not  worthy  to  live. 
Moreover,  human  welfare  is  achieved  not  by  each  indi- 
vidual, each  family,  each  class  and  each  nation  seeking  its 
own  welfare,  but  in  all  seeking  the  welfare  of  all.  The 
problems  of  society,  national  and  international,  are  solved 
by  the  Golden  Rule  intelligently  applied.  They  can  be 
solved  in  no  other  way.  The  duty  of  the  hour  is  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  law  of  love  as  our  principle  of  action  as 


13 


individuals,  families,  classes,  churches,  nations.  The 
nation,  the  class,  the  church  that  seeks  aggrandizement  of 
itself  rather  than  human  welfare  has  missed  the  path  of 
Jesus,  the  only  path  of  prosperity.  The  Sabbath,  the 
school,  the  state,  and  the  church  were  made  for  man,  not 
man  for  them. 

Keeping  Open  Road  for  God 

The  second  great  duty  of  the  Christian  church  is  the 
reaffirmation  of  God  as  a factor  in  human  history  and  in 
human  lives.  The  church  must  stand  for  the  great  truth 
that  while  men  are  real  and  powerful  factors  in  human 
history,  and  cannot  escape  the  responsibility  that  goes 
with  that  fact,  yet  there  is  a higher  power,  a higher  intelli- 
gence, with  which  or  against  which  they  work.  They  can 
hinder  his  purposes,  they  can  delay  his  plans.  But  there 
are  higher  plans  than  theirs,  there  is  a more  far-seeing 
vision  than  theirs,  to  which  it  becomes  them  to  give  heed 
and  with  which  it  behooves  them  to  work.  With  that 
Greater  Mind  we  do  well  to  take  counsel  through  prayer 
and  the  study  of  His  doings  in  the  world.  To  His  will,  so 
far  as  we  can  learn  it,  we  do  well  to  bend  our  wills.  In 
Him  and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  His  purposes  we  do  well 
to  trust,  and  by  our  faith  in  Him  steady  our  own  wills  and 
console  in  darkened  hours  our  own  fearful  hearts. 

And  standing  for  the  truth  that  God  is,  and  for  stead- 
fast faith  in  Him,  it  becomes  us,  also,  as  much  as  in  us 
lies,  to  set  before  Him  an  open  road.  The  message  of  the 
ancient  prophet  was  “Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  his  paths  straight.”  One  of  our  modern  leaders  has 
made  us  familiar  with  the  phrase,  “To  give  God  the  right 
of  way  in  our  lives.”  These  things  we  need  to  do  as  a 
nation  and  as  a church.  Who  of  us  is  wise  enough  to 
dictate  to  God  the  course  which  history  shall  take?  Who 
of  us  can  tell  that  the  measure  of  the  past  shall  be  the 
measure  of  the  future?  Speaking  for  his  God  the  prophet 


14 


of  old  said,  “Remember  ye  not  the  former  things,  neither 
consider  the  things  of  old.  Behold  I will  do  a new  thing, 
now  shall  it  spring  forth.”  To-day  we  need  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  our  conservatism,  our  timidity.  VVe  need 
to  keep  an  open  road  in  our  minds,  in  our  lives,  in  our 
plans,  for  the  Lord  to  come  and  do  greater  things  than 
ever  before. 

Keeping  thus  an  open  road  for  God,  wre  need,  also,  as 
far  as  in  us  lies,  to  make  large  plans,  bold  plans,  yet 
definite  and  carefully  thought-out  plans.  Such  plans  we 
need  in  every  church,  in  every  state,  in  every  division  of 
our  work,  in  the  whole  denomination.  Between  these  two 
duties  there  is  no  conflict.  We  shall  be  more  likely  to 
keep  the  way  open  for  God  if  we  are  planning  to  do  for 
Him  and  for  the  world  the  largest  things  that  seem  to  us 
at  all  possible.  His  purposes  are  always  greater  than  ours. 
The  larger  ours,  the  more  likely  we  shall  be  to  make  way 
for  His. 


Education  and  Christian  Ideals 

Another  great  duty  of  the  church  in  this  hour  is  the  pro- 
motion of  education  and  the  permeation  of  education 
with  Christian  ideals.  However  great  the  things  we  plan 
or  accomplish,  wre  can  but  begin  what  others  will  com- 
plete. If  we  labor,  other  men  will  enter  into  our  labor. 
And  for  their  share  in  the  tasks  that  American  Christian- 
ity will  be  called  upon  to  undertake  they  will  need  both 
native  ability  and  education.  But  that  education  must 
be  charged  with  Christian  principles.  To  a greater  extent 
than  ever  before,  the  Christian  church  must  concern  itself 
with  seeing  to  it  that  its  youth  are  educated  and  that 
their  education  is  of  a character  to  give  them  an  intelli- 
gent conception  of  Christianity’s  task  and  an  eager  desire 
to  take  part  in  achieving  it.  We  must  encourage  our 
boys  and  girls  to  get  an  education,  checking,  if  need  be, 
their  impetuous  eagerness  to  take  part  in  the  great  struggle 

15 


going  on  before  their  eyes.  We  must  strengthen  our 
Christian  schools,  we  must  throw  around  all  state  and 
city  schools  the  influences  of  an  intelligent  and  vigorous 
Christianity. 

The  Creation  of  Christian  Personalities 

Finally,  because  the  church  must  do  these  things,  the 
great  central  task  will  always  be  the  creation  of  personali- 
ties molded  and  dominated  by  faith  in  God  and  the  ideals 
of  Jesus.  It  is  not  the  business  of  the  church  as  such  to 
create  or  to  lead  political  parties.  It  is  not  its  business, 
as  such,  to  settle  strikes  or  to  champion  economic  pro- 
grams. It  is  not  its  business  to  negotiate  treaties  or  to 
appoint  ambassadors.  It  is  its  business,  jointly  with  the 
family  and  the  school,  to  produce  the  men  and  women 
who,  with  clear  vision,  high  purpose,  and  trained  ability, 
will  do  all  these  things,  and  doing  them  will  save  the 
nation  and  the  world.  We  need  men  and  women  who  will 
create  and  maintain  Christian  homes,  who  will  found  and 
conduct  schools,  who  will  manage  great  business  enter- 
prises on  Christian  principles,  holding  the  business  and 
the  wealth  it  produces  not  as  a private  possession  for  their 
own  pleasure,  but  as  instruments  for  promoting  the  wel- 
fare of  humanity;  who  will  lead  parties,  and  hold  office 
and  administer  the  government  in  accordance  with  the 
highest  political  wisdom  and  the  highest  moral  principles; 
men  and  women  whose  horizon  will  be  world-wide  and 
whose  vision  will  be  as  clear  as  it  is  far-seeing;  men  and 
women,  in  short,  who  will  look  at  the  world  as  Jesus  saw 
it,  and  find  their  joy  not  in  exploiting  it,  but  in  promoting 
its  highest  welfare.  It  is  the  high  task  of  the  church  to 
create  the  personalities  that  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
shall  face  and  solve  the  problems  that  to-day  confront  a 
perplexed  and  storm-tossed  world. 


16 


THE  NEW  WORLD  MOVEMENT  OF 
NORTHERN  BAPTISTS 


BY  J.  Y.  AITCHISON 


At  the  request  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  at 
its  annual  session  held  at  Atlantic  City  in  May,  1018,  the 
National  Committee  of  Northern  Baptist  Laymen  made 
a careful  survey  of  the  fields  and  work  of  our  denomination. 

A year  later,  May,  1919,  at  the  Denver  Convention,  our 
people  were  inspired  and  challenged  as  never  before  by 
the  report  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Laymen,  through  its 
special  Committee  on  Survey.  This  report  of  over  150 
pages  recited  outstanding  achievements  of  our  denomina- 
tion in  all  of  its  fields  of  activity,  and  indicated  with  un- 
mistakable clearness  and  definiteness  what  Northern  Bap- 
tists ought  to  undertake  to  do  as  their  minimum  share  of 
the  Christian  work  of  the  world  in  the  next  five  years. 
The  delegates  who  attended  the  Denver  Convention  lis- 
tened with  keenest  interest  to  this  report.  After  due  con- 
sideration, the  recommendations  of  the  Survey  Commit- 
tee were  unanimously  adopted  as  follows:  — 

1.  That  as  a denomination  we  record  our  acceptance  of  the  concep- 
tion that  the  mission  of  the  Christian  church  is  to  establish  a civilization, 
Christian  in  spirit  and  in  passion,  throughout  the  world. 

2.  That  we  announce  our  purpose  to  establish  independent,  self- 
supporting  churches  in  the  non-Christian  world,  under  the  direction 
of  native  leadership,  and  to  that  end  we  plan  to  enlarge  our  educational 
work  in  all  fields. 

3.  That  we  record  our  belief  in  all  those  missionary  agencies  which 
will  help  to  make  intelligent  men  and  women,  and  which  in  the  spirit 
of  the  Great  Physician  will  help  to  relieve  human  suffering. 

4.  That  we  declare  our  intention  to  increase  greatly  our  missionary 
staff  to  the  end  that  we  may  relieve  overburdened  missionaries,  and 
may  adequately  man  our  fields. 


17 


5.  That  we  send  a commission  to  study  the  situation  in  Eastern 
Europe  as  soon  as  possible,  and  advise  us  as  to  the  work  which  should 
be  undertaken  there. 

6.  That  we  record  our  readiness  to  enter  some  of  the  great  unoccupied 
fields  as  soon  as  we  can  adequately  provide  for  the  fields  under  our  care. 

7.  That  we  declare  our  conviction  that  the  Baptists  of  the  North 
should  not  withdraw  from  the  work  for  the  Indians  and  for  the  Negroes 
of  the  South,  but  that  we  should  strengthen  our  schools  and  make  them 
as  efficient  as  possible. 

8.  That  we  declare  our  determination  to  lay  new  emphasis  upon  our 
work  for  the  new  Americans  in  all  sections,  and  to  make  a special  effort 
to  redeem  our  cities. 

9.  That  we  approve  the  plans  to  increase  the  work  on  the  frontier, 
and  especially  to  provide  churches  for  the  proposed  soldier  settlements. 

10.  That  we  endeavor  to  increase  our  work  in  Latin  America  on  a 
large  scale,  that  we  may  help  prepare  those  republics  for  the  new  day 
in  their  land. 

11.  That  we  take  steps  at  once,  in  co-operation  with  other  churches, 
to  study  the  social  situation  in  America,  to  the  end  that  we  may  be  in 
a position  to  speak  with  authority  and  helpfulness  in  the  crisis  which 
now  faces  the  nation. 

12.  That  we  make  a determined  effort  to  raise  sufficient  funds  so  that 
we  may  grant  pensions  to  all  our  ministers  and  missionaries,  and  that 
we  request  the  Ministers  and  Missionaries  Benefit  Board  to  conduct  a 
vigorous  campaign  this  fall  to  induce  the  churches  to  increase  their 
salaries. 

13.  That  we  record  our  conviction  of  the  supreme  importance  of 
general  and  religious  education,  and  approve  plans  for  the  extension  of 
education  of  both  types  throughout  our  constituency. 

14.  That  we  appoint  a committee  to  continue  the  survey  and  bring 
it  to  completion. 

15.  That  we  establish  a denominational  weekly  paper  which  shall  be 
of  a high  grade,  and  under  the  ownership  and  control  of  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention. 

16.  That  we  approve  the  budgets  proposed  by  the  Committee  on 
Survey  and  declare  our  determination  to  raise  before  April  1,  1924,  the 
sum  of  354,006,883  for  permanent  equipment  of  our  institutions  and 
work,  and  that  we  accept,  as  the  operating  budget  for  the  year  1923-24, 
the  sum  of  38,210,311. 

Note.  — Upon  presentation  to  the  Convention,  Recommendation  16 
was  referred  back  to  the  committee  with  a request  for  an  estimate  of  the 
total  amount  to  be  raised  within  five  years.  The  committee  later  sub- 
mitted the  following  substitute  for  Recommendation  16:  — 


18 


16.  That  in  the  light  of  the  facts  presented  in  this  survey  and  of  our 
desire  to  do  a work  for  the  Kingdom  that  is  commensurate  with  our 
resources,  we  declare  our  determination  to  raise  before  April  1,  1924,  for 
all  our  benevolence,  including  city,  state,  national  and  foreign  work,  the 
sum  of  3100,000,000. 

It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  immediately  upon  the 
adoption  of  this  report  our  larger  program  was  referred 
to  as  the  “one  hundred  million  dollar  campaign.”  The 
American  people  are  accustomed  to  think  and  speak  in 
terms  of  money  values.  We  wish  to  point  out  with  em- 
phasis, however,  that  our  new  program  is  not  chiefly  or 
primarily  financial  either  in  spirit  or  its  objectives.  It  is 
true  we  shall  need  the  $100,000,000  during  the  next  five 
years  if  we  are  to  stand  back  of  the  work  we  are  now  doing 
and  move  forward  to  the  larger  tasks  which  have  grown 
out  of  the  blessing  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  the 
work  we  have  already  done.  But  for  Northern  Baptists 
to  furnish  the  missionary  leaders  at  home  and  abroad, 
called  for  in  this  survey  during  this  period,  constitutes 
our  greatest  challenge.  Consecrated  and  trained  leader- 
ship is  most  fundamental  to  the  success  of  the  missionary 
enterprise.  All  the  money  of  our  great  land  cannot  “estab- 
lish a civilization,  Christian  in  spirit  and  in  passion, 
throughout  the  world”  unless  we  have  the  men  and 
women  who,  called  of  God  and  filled  with  His  spirit,  will 
go  forth  to  the  fields  of  the  world,  not  to  be  ministered 
unto  but  to  minister  and  to  give  their  lives  to  the  task. 
We  have  many  such  devoted  souls  to-day.  Their  number 
must  be  so  greatly  increased  year  by  year  that  nothing 
but  a general  awakening  on  the  part  of  our  people  to  the 
spiritual  needs  and  values  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  will 
enable  us  to  reach  the  “life  service”  goal  of  our  larger 
program.  This  fact  needs  to  be  brought  home  with  em- 
phasis to  all  pastors,  church  leaders,  Christian  parents 
and  young  people,  and  especially  to  the  present  student 
bodies.  Never  was  it  more  needful  for  Christian  people  to 


19 


give  themselves  with  deepest  concern  to  prayer  that  the 
Lord  of  the  Harvest  would  send  forth  laborers  into  the 
fields  which  are  white  unto  the  harvest.  Christian  men 
and  women  who  pray,  and  here  is  the  deepest  test  of  the 
genuineness  and  strength  of  Christian  faith,  must  be  ready 
if  it  is  God’s  will  either  to  go  themselves  or  to  give  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  their  own  hearts  to  this  supreme 
task  of  the  present  world  crisis,  namely,  the  securing  of 
adequate  Christian  leadership. 

It  is  because  of  the  need  of  full  recognition  of  the  real 
values  of  our  larger  program  that  it  has  been  decided  not 
to  designate  this  the  “hundred  million  dollar  campaign.” 
Here,  again,  even  on  its  money  side,  we  are  not  so  deeply 
concerned  that  we  should  raise  $100,000,000,  but  that 
there  should  first  be  awakened  in  the  minds  of  our  people 
a spiritual  sense  of  the  relationship  of  our  money  to  the 
work  of  the  Kingdom.  Why  should  there  be  such  a wide 
breach  between  the  spirit  of  the  missionary  who  invests 
his  life  in  service  and  the  church  members  who  lack  a 
Christian  standard  for  the  measure  of  their  financial  obli- 
gation to  God? 

We  are  not  launching  upon  a program  to  commercialize 
Christianity  by  raising  a big  sum  of  money.  Our  first 
concern  is  to  spiritualize  the  hearts  of  all  men  who  handle 
money.  The  remedy  for  present  tendencies  is  in  the  recog- 
nition of  the  relationship  of  all  life  and  all  wealth  to  the 
well-being  of  humanity.  Any  business  which  is  conducted 
for  the  good  of  its  stockholders  alone  is  unchristian. 
God’s  program  for  the  redemption  of  humanity  must  have 
due  consideration  and  adequate  support.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  spirit  of  love,  brotherhood  and  justice,  as 
exemplified  in  the  character  of  Christ,  is  so  obviously  the 
duty  of  every  Christian  man  or  woman  that  those  who 
fail  at  this  point,  no  matter  what  they  profess,  cannot 
command  confidence  and  respect  as  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Our  Lord  has  a just  claim  upon  the  time  and 


20 


money  of  every  man.  He  who  ignores  that  claim  com- 
mits a triple  robbery.  He  robs  God,  society  and  his  own 
soul.  Peace  of  mind,  quietness  of  soul  and  a sense  of  duty 
done  are  worth  more  than  bank  accounts.  Our  task,  then, 
in  our  larger  program  is  not  simply  to  get  money:  it  is  to 
secure  fuller  recognition  of  the  supreme  importance  of 
spiritual  values. 

It  is  because  of  these  and  kindred  facts  that  after  much 
prayerful  consideration  the  name  of  “The  New  World 
Movement”  was  chosen  to  describe  our  Northern  Bap- 
tist Movement  for  Christian  reconstruction. 

That  “new  world”  which  wras  to  come  after  the  war 
has  not  yet  materialized.  In  consequence,  disappoint- 
ment and  restlessness  are  widespread.  The  underlying 
reason  is  that  selfishness  is  still  rampant. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  new  industrial,  political  and 
social  conditions  which  are  still  in  process  of  crystal- 
lization. This  new  world  is  in  danger  without  the  cross 
of  Christ. 

But  the  old  world  of  distrust  and  suspicion  and  hate 
must  go.  A new  world  of  faith  and  hope  and  love  must 
take  its  place  if  we  are  to  escape  the  pit  of  despair  after 
these  five  years  of  horror. 

Before  it  has  visible  expression,  this  “new  world” 
must  be  born  in  the  hearts  of  men. 


Only  by  the  Power  of  the  Cross  can  the  New  World 
be  Realized 

It  is  to  the  making  of  this  world  that  our  Northern 
Baptist  Movement  aspires  to  contribute  its  share. 

The  poster  shown  on  the  front  cover  page  wyas  designed 
to  illustrate  the  spiritual  significance  of  our  movement, 
“the  light  that  never  was  on  sea  or  land”  shines  from 
the  cross  full  upon  our  own  beloved  country. 

Lifting  our  eyes  to  that  cross,  are  we  not  filled  wfith 


21 


a sense  of  our  obligation  to  share  that  light  with  all  them 
that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death? 

“The  ambition  which  puts  any  personal  advantage  in 
front  of  service  is  anti-Christian.  It  is  economically  un- 
sound. It  does  not  matter  whether  it  be  in  an  individual 
life,  a business  or  a church.”  Christ’s  test  of  discipleship 
needs  re-emphasis  to-day.  “If  any  man  would  be  my 
disciple,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me.” 

It  is  in  accordance  with  these  fundamental  considera- 
tions that  before  launching  our  campaign  to  raise  money 
we  call  upon  our  people  to  consider  anew  the  importance 
of  giving  fresh  incarnation  to  the  spirit  of  love,  brother- 
hood and  justice  manifested  in  the  character  of  Christ. 
Let  us  promise  an  enlarged  allegiance  to  Christ  and  the 
work  of  His  church,  and  covenant  together  to  set  apart 
a just  proportion  of  time  and  money  to  help  attain  the 
objectives  of  “The  New  World  Movement.” 

The  series  of  articles  which  are  given  in  this  book  have 
been  prepared  with  utmost  care.  They  discuss  topics 
vital  to  the  task  to  which  Northern  Baptists  are  com- 
mitted. No  earnest  Christian  should  fail  to  take  the 
time  necessary  for  the  careful  consideration  of  the  part 
our  denomination  must  assume  in  the  twentieth-century 
program  of  Christ  for  world  redemption.  The  demand 
of  the  hour  is  for  a new  allegiance  to  Christ  for  world 
service. 

It  is  a time  for  all  church  members  and  all  churches  to 
act  and  to  act  together.  We  cannot  accomplish  our 
great  task  otherwise.  Many  churches  have  yet  to  heed 
the  lesson  which  Germany  forced  upon  the  Allies.  Ger- 
many, in  the  wrong,  yet  united,  was  able  to  overpower 
the  Allies  until  the  Allies,  in  the  right,  learned  their  lesson 
and  supported  the  right  with  a thoroughly  organized  and 
united  effort.  Herein  lies  the  secret  of  success  for  “The 
New  World  Movement.” 


22 


A SURVEY  OF  THE  SURVEY 


BY  REV.  JAMES  A.  CLARKE 


At  the  session  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  in 
Denver  last  spring  the  Committee  on  Survey,  Rev.  F.  W. 
Padelford,  D.D.,  chairman,  presented  a report  of  epochal 
significance  for  the  denomination.  With  survey  data, 
maps,  charts  and  report  of  the  committee  on  the  survey 
data,  the  “survey”  makes  a handsome  quarto  volume 
of  151  pages.  Classes  for  the  study  of  this  document 
ought  to  be  formed  in  every  church.  In  the  hope  of 
leading  many  to  a careful  examination  of  the  complete 
volume  itself,  we  present  herewith,  largely  in  the  language 
of  the  survey  itself,  a summary  of  the  committee’s  “Re- 
port on  the  Survey  Data.” 

Beginnings  in  the  Orient 

Our  work  in  the  non-Christian  world  began  with  the 
arrival  of  Adoniram  Judson  in  Burma  in  1813.  It  was 
six  years  before  Judson  baptized  his  first  convert,  but 
that  convert  was  the  first  fruits  of  a wonderful  harvest. 
The  total  number  of  those  who  have  been  baptized  on- 
that  field  is  unknown,  but  the  present  membership  of 
the  Burma  churches  is  nearly  75,000,  while  the  number 
of  churches  is  greater  by  more  than  one  hundred  than 
the  number  in  any  state  in  the  North. 

The  year  1836  'was  the  great  year  of  beginnings  in  our 
foreign  mission  work.  In  that  'year  the  missions  were 
established  in  Assam,  Bengal,  South  India  and  China. 
This  was  just  twenty-two  years  after  Judson  had  begun 
his  work  in  Burma.  The  mission  in  Japan  was  founded 


23 


in  1872.  We  were  late  in  entering  that  country,  after 
the  first  pro-Christian  movement  had  spent  itself,  and 
we  have  suffered  as  a result  of  that  tardiness  ever  since. 
The  mission  in  Africa  was  established  by  some  independent 
English  Baptists  in  1878,  and  was  assumed  by  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  in  1884.  The  mission 
in  the  Philippines  was  opened  in  1899. 

Our  Work  to  the  Non-Christian  World 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  our  work  in  the  non- 
Christian  world  may  be  gained  from  the  following  sum- 
mary: Our  missionary  staff  consists  of  257  missionary 
families,  181  single  women  missionaries,  and  6,872  native 
workers.  The  list  of  native  workers  comprises  pastors, 
evangelists,  teachers,  doctors,  Bible  women  and  nurses. 
The  total  number  of  our  churches  in  the  non-Christian 
world  is  1,745,  including  1,064  in  Burma,  173  in  Assam, 
176  in  South  India,  22  in  Bengal-Orissa,  174  in  China, 
33  in  Japan,  71  in  the  Philippines  and  32  in  Africa.  Our 
total  membership  is  186,382,  practically  the  same  as  the 
membership  of  our  churches  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
We  have  2,789  schools  of  all  grades  with  an  enrollment 
of  84,469.  We  have  27  hospitals.  The  total  value  of 
our  mission  property  is  approximately  $3,885,500,  which 
is  greater  by  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  than  the 
reported  value  of  our  church  property  in  Indiana  or  Iowa. 

The  Aim  of  Foreign  Missions 

The  first  and  most  important  question  in  the  further 
development  of  our  work  is  as  to  what  is  our  real  aim 
and  purpose  in  this  foreign  mission  task.  Without  doubt 
the  purpose  of  Adoniram  Judson  and  his  fellow  mission- 
aries of  the  first  fifty  years  was  to  fulfill  literally  the 
terms  of  the  great  commission  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  Their  one  thought  was  to  get  the  mes- 


24 


sage  of  Christ  to  as  many  individuals  as  possible  before 
they  were  swept  into  a Christless  eternity.  The  deter- 
mination to  inform  as  many  of  these  people  as  possible 
of  the  Christ  guided  the  plans  for  our  Baptist  missionary 
work  for  a large  part  of  its  history. 

Does  that  statement  adequately  represent  our  con- 
ception of  the  purpose  of  foreign  missions  to-day? 

We  recognize  that  the  supreme  need  of  these  millions 
of  people  in  heathenism  is  a knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  personal  Saviour.  But  the  impartation  of  that  mes- 
sage is  in  fact  only  the  starting  point.  The  mission  of 
the  Christian  church  is  not  merely  to  pluck  a few  brands 
from  the  burning,  but  to  establish  a civilization  that  is 
Christian  in  spirit  and  passion,  the  world  around. 

The  war  has  helped  us  to  a comprehension  of  this  larger 
conception.  We  know  now  that  we  cannot  retain  our 
own  Christian  civilization  except  as  the  civilization  of 
Russia,  Austria,  China  and  Japan  is  Christian.  We  are 
now  bound  to  Christianize  Asia  for  the  sake  of  America, 
if  not  for  the  sake  of  Christ. 

If  we  are  ready  to  accept  this  larger  conception  of 
foreign  missions,  then  it  is  clear  that  we  must  work  out 
our  plans  on  an  entirely  new  scale.  No  program  which 
we  can  propose  can  be  too  large  to  suit  the  new  situation. 
The  members  of  the  committee  frankly  declare  that  it 
is  this  larger  purpose  which  has  governed  their  minds  in 
determining  the  outlines  of  this  report. 


Education  in  Modern  Missions 

If  we  are  to  adopt  this  more  modern  idea,  then  among 
the  plans  which  must  be  enlarged  are  those  which  relate 
to  the  place  of  Christian  education  in  modern  missions. 
As  Baptists  we  have  always  asserted  that  our  primary 
business  is  evangelism.  Our  missionaries  devoted  them- 
selves largely  to  this  business.  Twenty-five  years  ago 

25 


we  were  able  to  boast  that  we  had  baptized  more  non- 
Christians  than  all  the  other  denominations  together. 
Some  of  them  are  now  leaving  us  far  behind.  What  is  the 
reason?  They  saw  before  we  did  that  if  the  Orient  is  to 
be  evangelized  it  must  be  evangelized  by  orientals.  They 
devoted  their  primary  attention,  therefore,  to  training 
and  educating  native  preacheis  and  evangelists.  To-day 
they  have  much  larger  staffs  of  competent,  trained  men. 
These  are  the  men  who  are  now  reaping  the  harvest.  If 
no  other  motive  underlies  our  method,  this  primary  desire 
for  giving  every  man  the  message  of  Christ  must  compel 
us  to  increase  very  largely  our  educational  work. 

There  is  another  reason  that  underlies  the  development 
of  a Christian  educational  system.  If  we  are  to  have  an 
influential  church  in  the  Orient  it  must  be  an  intelligent 
church.  We  do  not  mean  that  it  must  be  composed  of 
college  graduates,  but  that  the  people  must  be  able  to 
read,  write  and  think.  In  some  of  the  fields  in  which  we 
are  engaged  the  illiteracy  ranges  from  90  to  99  per  cent. 
It  is  absolutely  essential  that  they  shall  have  sufficient 
education  to  interpret  the  gospel  and  to  apply  its  prin- 
ciples to  their  daily  lives. 

The  Schools  in  the  Orient 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  we  have  established  a large 
number  of  schools  in  the  Orient.  It  is  for  these  reasons 
that  the  committee  believes  that  the  number  of  these 
schools  should  be  greatly  increased.  The  majority  of  our 
schools  are  of  course  of  the  primary  grade.  In  most  of  our 
missions  we  have  also  erected  schools  of  the  secondary 
grade,  but  as  yet  we  have  done  but  little  in  higher  educa- 
tion. We  have  one  college  of  our  own  at  Rangoon  and 
we  co-operate  with  the  Southern  Baptists  in  the  college 
at  Shanghai.  We  are  co-operating  with  other  boards  in 
the  support  of  some  other  colleges,  for  example,  the  West 
China  Union  University.  If  we  are  to  create  an  educated 

26 


ministry,  we  must  devote  more  attention  to  our  higher 
education.  In  nearly  all  our  missions  we  have  schools  for 
training  native  preachers,  but  in  most  of  the  missions 
these  schools  need  to  be  raised  to  a much  higher  grade.  If 
we  are  to  make  any  appreciable  contribution  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a Christian  civilization  in  the  Orient,  we 
must  create  an  educated  ministry.  This  is  fundamental 
to  the  accomplishment  of  our  primary  purpose. 

The  Committee  on  Survey  therefore  recommends  that 
we  plan  to  lay  large  emphasis  upon  the  development  of 
our  educational  work  during  the  next  five  years.  We 
must  establish  a large  number  of  new  schools.  This  list 
must  include  schools  of  all  grades  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  college  and  seminary.  Our  college  at  Rangoon  will 
require  an  investment  of  a half  million  dollars,  one-half 
of  which  will  be  provided  by  the  government.  Our  fine 
institution  at  Shanghai  will  need  new  buildings  and 
added  facilities.  As  soon  as  possible  our  boys’  school  in 
Yokohama  must  be  raised  to  college  grade,  involving  an 
investment  of  $600,000. 


The  Education  of  Women 

In  some  of  our  fields  not  3 per  cent  of  the  women  can 
read  or  write,  but  civilization  rises  no  higher  than  the  level 
of  its  womanhood.  For  that  reason  we  are  devoting  in- 
creasing attention  to  the  education  of  women.  Our  work 
for  girls  and  women  in  Burma  is  unrivaled  by  any  similar 
work  in  the  Orient.  We  have  studied  with  intense  inter- 
est the  work  which  our  Baptist  women  are  doing  in  co- 
operation with  the  women  of  other  denominations  in 
building  schools  and  colleges  for  girls.  We  commend  it 
most  highly. 

Another  phase  of  missionary  work  upon  which  we  wish 
to  lay  emphasis  is  what  is  called  industrial  missions. 
People  who  are  stricken  with  poverty  cannot  do  much  in 


27 


the  way  of  supporting  churches.  If  we  are  to  have  a 
self-supporting  church  we  are  therefore  driven  to  helping 
these  people  learn  to  be  self-supporting. 


Following  the  Great  Physician 

Another  phase  of  the  missionary  program  which  has 
been  subjected  to  serious  criticism  is  our  medical  work. 
Why,  we  are  asked,  should  we,  here  in  America,  found 
hospitals  and  support  doctors  in  China?  The  reason  is 
that  Christ  was  the  Great  Physician.  He  believed  that 
part  of  his  mission  was  to  relieve  human  suffering.  The 
church  of  Christ  cannot  behold  the  awful  suffering  of 
humanity  in  the  Orient  and  not  be  touched  with  a feeling 
for  its  infirmity.  We  have  therefore  sent  out  doctors  and 
erected  hospitals.  This  ministry  of  healing  is  one  of  the 
clearest  proofs  to  the  oriental  mind  of  the  divinity  of  our 
religion. 

Our  opportunity  is  unlimited  not  merely  to  demonstrate 
the  spirit  of  the  Great  Physician  but  also  to  touch  the 
hearts  of  men.  We  need  to  erect  new  hospitals,  — not 
less  than  nineteen  during  the  next  five  years.  We  should 
send  out  a large  number  of  doctors  and  nurses  at  once. 


Equipment  of  the  Mission  Stations 

We  have  been  impressed  with  the  need  for  better  equip- 
ment at  most  of  our  mission  stations.  We  need  new  resi- 
dences for  the  missionaries,  at  least  188.  If  no  other 
interest  moves  us,  the  protection  of  our  own  investment 
demands  this. 

In  many  of  our  missions  we  need  to  make  a large  invest- 
ment in  new  church  buildings.  In  the  cities  of  Japan,  for 
example,  how  can  we  hope,  in  miserable  little  chapels,  to 
reach  people  who  are  accustomed  to  associate  the  thought 
of  religion  with  beautiful  temples  and  pagodas?  The 

28 


committee  recommends  at  least  seventy-five  new  church 
buildings  within  five  years. 

We  have  been  impressed  with  the  efforts  being  made  to 
reach  the  educated  classes  of  the  Orient  through  the  stu- 
dents in  the  great  universities.  Dr.  Benninghoff,  in 
Tokyo,  and  Dr.  Witter,  in  Gauhati,  are  bringing  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Gospel  to  bear  upon  hundreds  of  students. 
We  are  never  going  to  win  the  East  until  we  win  the  intel- 
lectual classes.  To  win  them  we  must  begin  with  the 
students. 

The  Missionary  Staff 

Every  field  is  undermanned.  In  many  fields  a single 
man  is  attempting  to  do  the  work  of  two  or  three.  Some 
fields  which  should  have  four  or  five  missionaries  have 
only  one  family.  We  have  less  men  on  the  foreign  field 
than  we  had  five  years  ago.  The  committee  believes  that 
our  program  should  include  a practical  doubling  of  our 
missionary  staff  within  five  years.  The  constant  advance 
in  learning  and  the  necessity  that  Christianity  should 
reach  the  highest  classes  demand  that  only  our  best  men 
be  sent  out. 

The  War  and  Foreign  Missions 

Foreign  missions  have  taken  on  a new  aspect  as  a result 
of  the  war.  The  struggle  for  democracy  has  bound  all 
sections  of  the  world  in  a new  fellowship.  Nearly  all  the 
non-Christian  nations  were  our  allies.  We  sustain  a dif- 
ferent relation  to  them  henceforth.  We  are  deeply  con- 
cerned as  to  the  type  of  civilization  they  develop. 

The  war  has  opened  many  doors  among  these  people. 
They  have  a new  interest  in  the  West,  and  everything 
that  comes  out  of  it.  The  Christian  church  never  faced 
a day  of  such  wonderful  opportunities.  If  we  enter  the 
Orient  now  with  determination  and  large  plans,  the  East 
may  be  brought  to  a virtual  recognition  of  Christianity 

29 


during  the  next  two  generations.  The  Christian  civiliza- 
tion may,  without  doubt,  become  dominant  throughout 
these  great  regions. 

The  Situation  in  Europe 

We  have  a responsibility  to  discharge  for  the  Baptists 
of  France  and  Belgium  in  helping  them  to  rebuild  their 
ruined  churches.  Without  our  immediate  help  they  may 
be  long  delayed  in  rebuilding  Protestantism  in  the  deso- 
lated regions. 

There  is  another  section  of  Europe  which  should  be 
studied,  the  east  and  southeast.  Small  groups  of  Baptist 
Protestants  have  arisen  frequently  in  different  sections. 
Men  who  have  been  converted  in  this  country  have  gone 
back  to  spread  the  Gospel.  These  movements  ought  to 
have  our  sympathy  and  support.  But  we  should  know 
exactly  what  the  situation  is  before  we  enter.  The  com- 
mittee recommends  that  we  send  a group  of  men  from 
this  country  to  study  the  situation  in  eastern  Europe. 

Unoccupied  Fields 

In  our  study  of  the  non-Christian  world  the  committee 
has  been  compelled  to  raise  the  question  as  to  whether 
we  ought  not  to  enter  some  of  the  unoccupied  fields  of 
the  world.  Two  great  fields  immediately  loom  up  which 
are  not  adequately  provided  for:  the  Mohammedan  world 
and  South  America.  This  is  a critical  hour  in  the  history 
of  Mohammedanism.  It  has  suffered  a fearful  reverse  in 
the  war.  Christianity's  opportunity  in  the  Mohammedan 
world  is  dawning. 

Another  great  field,  South  America,  a continent  of  un- 
imagined resources  and  teeming  with  life,  has  no  adequate 
religion.  There  are  millions  of  its  people  still  in  paganism. 
Most  of  its  leading  men,  disgusted  with  Christianity  as 
they  have  seen  it,  have  forsworn  all  religion. 

30 


What  attitude  are  we  to  assume  toward  these  unoccu- 
pied territories?  Our  first  responsibility  is  without  doubt 
to  the  fields  which  we  have  already  entered.  But  as  soon 
as  these  obligations  are  at  all  adequately  met  we  must 
recognize  our  obligation  to  the  great  awakening  Moham- 
medan world  and  to  the  peoples  of  our  sister  republics  to 
the  South. 


Latin  America 

Midway  between  the  foreign  field  and  the  home  field 
lies  Latin  America.  Our  first  work  in  Latin  America  was 
naturally  in  Mexico,  where  the  first  Baptist  church  was 
founded  in  1864.  We  have  made  good  progress,  so  much 
so  that  when,  recently,  foreign  clergymen  were  driven 
from  their  parishes  by  the  new  constitution  our  churches 
were  able  to  go  on  almost  uninterruptedly  under  native 
leadership.  Following  the  Spanish  War  we  entered  Cuba 
and  Porto  Rico.  It  was  not  until  1910,  however,  that  we 
began  in  Central  America.  In  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  our 
work  has  been  wonderfully  prosperous.  There  is  every 
prospect  of  building  up  strong  churches  in  each  of  the 
islands.  It  is  too  early  to  record  achievements  in  Central 
America,  where  we  are  just  beginning.  Central  America 
is  going  to  become  a most  influential  section  of  the  new 
world;  business  will  center  there.  We  must  make  those 
states  Christian.  The  work  of  evangelizing  Latin  America 
must  be  done  by  the  Latin  Americans  themselves.  What 
we  must  do  is  to  help  find  and  train  the  native  preachers. 
This  means  that  we  must  build  schools.  We  already  have 
excellent  training  schools  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  We 
are  uniting  with  the  Southern  Baptists  in  maintaining  a 
training  school  in  Mexico.  We  have  as  yet  no  school  in 
Central  America.  This  must  be  established  as  soon  as 
possible. 


31 


The  American  Indians 

Turning  now  to  the  home  field,  we  direct  our  study  first 
to  the  American  Indians,  since  the  first  missionary  work 
in  America  was  done  for  them.  The  Northern  Baptists 
are  carrying  on  some  missionary  work  among  fourteen  dif- 
ferent tribes,  but  our  staff  consists  of  only  twenty-six  men 
and  women.  There  are  twenty  churches  in  our  various 
missions.  We  have  a very  good  school  at  Bacone,  Okla- 
homa, known  as  Bacone  College.  This  school  gives  work 
of  all  grades  up  to  the  third  year  in  college.  There  are  also 
schools  of  the  lower  grades  connected  with  practically  all 
our  mission  stations. 

Only  20  per  cent  of  these  people  are  adherents  of  the 
Protestant  church,  20  per  cent  are  Roman  Catholics,  while 
60  per  cent  of  the  people  are  entirely  unevangelized.  The 
American  church  has  a peculiar  responsibility  to  these 
people,  a responsibility  which  is  not  at  all  measured  by  the 
feeble  work  which  we  are  doing  among  them.  This  work 
should  be  decidedly  increased. 

The  natives  of  Alaska  are  closely  akin  to  the  American 
Indians.  Our  work  in  that  great  territory  is  confined  to  a 
small  orphanage  on  Kodiak  Island.  In  the  division  of 
territory  by  the  Home  Missions  Council  several  years  ago 
we  were  assigned  a section  of  unoccupied  territory,  but 
we  have  never  attempted  to  enter  it.  We  have  a direct 
responsibility  for  this  field  and  should  establish  a new 
mission  at  Prince  William  Sound.  We  should  also  open 
work  among  the  whites  and  mixed  races.  Alaska  has  for 
generations  had  the  ministry  of  the  Greek  Church  of 
Russia.  Owing  to  the  confiscation  of  their  funds  by  the 
Bolsheviki,  the  priests  are  leaving  the  territory  and  there, 
will  soon  be  no  religious  ministry  whatever. 


32 


The  Negro 

One  of  the  largest  elements  in  our  American  program 
is  our  work  among  the  Negroes.  Gradually  we  have 
worked  out  an  educational  policy  in  the  South.  The 
public  schools  have  been  opened  to  the  Negroes,  and  the 
support  of  independent  primary  schools  by  the  North  has 
largely  ceased.  The  Negro  has  assumed  responsibility 
for  many  of  the  schools  of  secondary  grade.  But  the 
South  provides  no  higher  education  for  the  Negroes.  They 
must  still  depend  upon  their  friends  in  the  North  to  pro- 
vide the  higher  education  for  them.  There  are  now 
fifteen  schools  of  higher  grade  which  depend  on  our  mis- 
sionary assistance.  The  enrollment  of  these  schools  is 
more  than  5,000  students  per  annum.  They  receive  an 
education  which  ranges  from  the  seventh  grade  through 
the  college.  More  than  4,500  men  and  women  have 
completed  their  full  education  in  these  institutions. 

Education  is  the  only  power  that  makes  an  independent 
race.  We  cannot  afford  to  have  a great  and  growing 
segment  of  our  population  in  ignorance  and  dependence. 
The  Negro  must  have  the  highest  education  possible. 


Supporting  the  Negro  Schools 

Our  investment  in  this  work  ought  to  be  increased  as 
far  as  possible.  Our  schools  need  to  be  improved.  Many 
of  the  buildings  must  be  rebuilt.  New  buildings  must 
be  erected  at  several  of  the  schools.  The  faculties  of  all 
these  schools  ought  to  be  enlarged  and  salaries  increased. 

The  Home  Mission  Society  has  just  entered  into  a 
tentative  agreement  with  the  representatives  of  the  South- 
ern Baptists  whereby  it  is  hoped  that  the  Baptists  of 
the  South  will  assume  part  of  the  expense  of  maintain- 
ing these  institutions.  Every  dollar  which  the  Southern 
Baptists  are  willing  to  invest  in  these  schools  should  be 

33 


added  to  the  investment  which  we  ourselves  are  making 
and  should  not  relieve  us  of  further  contributions. 

The  Committee  on  Survey  recommends  that  we  spend 
$1,305,000  in  improving  and  enlarging  the  properties, 
and  that  we  endeavor  to  raise  $1,000,000  as  endowment 
of  our  educational  work,  the  endowment  to  be  held  by 
the  Home  Mission  Society  and  not  by  the  schools. 

The  Negro  in  the  North 

Most  unexpectedly  we  have  had  a great  migration  of 
Negroes  from  the  South  into  our  northern  states  in  the 
last  two  or  three  years.  The  number  is  estimated  from 
200,000  to  500,000.  During  the  period  of  the  shortage 
of  labor  owing  to  the  war,  northern  employers  held  out 
glowing  inducements  to  the  Negroes  to  come  North. 
They  have  been  herded  together  under  the  most  unsani- 
tary conditions,  and  in  many  cities  they  have  become  a 
menace  to  the  health  of  the  communities.  We  may 
expect  that  this  migration  will  continue  indefinitely. 

Their  presence  creates  serious  problems  in  the  northern 
states.  Many  of  our  Negro  churches  are  overcrowded. 
These  new  people  must  be  housed  and  ministers  must  be 
provided.  They  will  be  able  to  provide  the  local  expense 
of  their  churches,  but  they  are  not  in  a position  to  erect 
the  buildings.  Moreover  the  social  conditions  under 
which  these  people  are  living  demand  that  the  Christian 
church  shall  begin  a social  ministry  among  them  at  once. 
We  have  appointed  a special  worker,  a man  of  their  own 
race,  who  is  highly  intelligent  and  well  trained.  It  is 
proposed  to  open  Christian  centers  in  some  of  the  cities 
where  the  Negroes  are  congregating  in  large  numbers. 

The  Frontier 

The  missionary  work  in  the  United  States  began  on 
the  frontier.  There  are  hundreds  of  square  miles  of 
frontier  yet,  and  once  off  the  highway  it  seems  scarcely 

34 


to  have  been  broken.  Great  tracts  are  constantly  being 
broken  up  for  settlement  in  the  timber  lands  of  the  north- 
west, and  in  the  new  irrigation  districts  the  Department 
of  the  Interior  hopes  to  open  up  hundreds  of  square  miles 
in  the  next  five  years.  These  conditions  call  louder  than 
ever  for  the  frontier  missionary. 

Following  all  our  previous  wars  the  government  has 
opened  large  tracts  of  land  for  the  returned  soldiers.  The 
government  has  extensive  plans  of  the  same  nature  at 
the  present  time.  If  Congress  will  pass  the  necessary 
legislation,  the  Department  of  the  Interior  will  soon  offer 
inducements  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  returned  sol- 
diers. If  these  plans  are  carried  out  there  will  be  hun- 
dreds of  new  settlements  and  demands  for  hundreds  of 
new  churches. 

The  committee  has  proposed  that  3246,000  be  secured 
within  the  next  five  years  to  build  churches  in  these  new 
settlements,  and  we  have  provided  3123,000  in  the  oper- 
ating budget  of  1923-24  for  the  support  of  such  new 
churches. 

The  Colporter 

One  of  the  oldest  types  of  minister  is  the  colporter,  — 
the  man  with  his  Bible  and  religious  books,  who  spends 
his  time  in  the  open  country.  The  demand  for  his  serv- 
ices has  constantly  increased.  In  the  rural  sections  of 
the  eastern  states  are  thousands  of  people  who  are  un- 
touched by  any  church.  The  colporter  is  the  only  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel  they  ever  see.  In  the  West  are  thou- 
sands of  ranchers  whose  people  never  attend  a church 
service.  Except  as  these  people  are  reached  by  the  col- 
porter, they  will  have  no  vital  touch  with  religion.  This 
is  no  time  to  call  in  the  colporter.  We  believe  the  num- 
ber should  be  considerably  increased. 


35 


The  Evangelist 


We  have  always  felt  a special  call  to  the  evangelistic 
work.  We  now  have  a department  of  evangelism.  It 
was  part  of  the  original  plan  to  have  this  system  so  com- 
prehensive as  to  cover  all  parts  of  the  North.  We  have 
never  been  able  to  carry  out  the  plan,  however,  though 
we  have  not  lost  sight  of  the  idea.  We  should  now  re- 
turn to  the  plan  to  organize  our  evangelistic  work  upon 
a permanent  basis.  Our  superintendent  of  evangelism 
should  be  given  sufficient  assistance  so  that  our  entire 
field  may  be  covered. 

Church  Buildings 

Throughout  our  country  we  are  in  need  of  a well-planned 
movement  for  the  improvement  of  our  church  property. 
Hundreds  of  our  churches  could  well  secure  much  more 
adequate  buildings.  There  are  many  churches,  however, 
that  cannot  provide  all  the  money  for  the  plant  they  need. 
The  denomination  should  go  tc  the  assistance  of  such 
churches.  We  have  therefore  approved  of  the  National 
Church  Edifice  Fund  of  $1,363,000  to  be  raised  in  five 
years.  Our  edifice  department  should  employ  a com- 
petent church  architect  who  would  devote  his  entire  time 
to  helping  our  smaller  churches  to  secure  adequate  plants. 

The  New  Americans 

The  great  religious  problem  in  America  centers  in  our 
new  Americans.  The  estimated  population  of  the  United 
States  in  1916  was  1 12, (XX), 000.  Of  this  number,  32,000,- 
000,  or  more  than  one-quarter,  may  be  designated  as  new 
Americans.  Over  14,000,000  people  in  the  United  States 
at  the  present  time  were  born  outside  of  it.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  of  these  people  who  have  recently  come  among 
us  are  among  the  very  best  citizens  we  have.  But  there 


36 


are  thousands  of  others  who  are  most  dangerous  enemies. 
Our  whole  American  civilization  faces  the  greatest  peril 
in  all  its  history. 

There  is  only  one  force  that  can  amalgamate  all  these 
different  elements  and  that  is  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
As  a denomination  we  have  been  increasing  our  work 
among  these  people  during  the  last  ten  years,  but  our 
work  ought  to  be  very  greatly  increased  at  once.  All  our 
missionary  agencies  are  now  converging  on  this  point. 
The  Committee  on  Survey  is  approving  a budget  which 
will  provide  for  more  than  double  the  present  work. 

Our  great  problem  in  this  whole  matter  is  that  of  leader- 
ship. We  have  already  established  some  training  schools 
for  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians,  the  Germans,  the  Italians, 
the  Danes,  and  some  others.  We  need  a strong,  thoroughly 
organized  school  for  men  of  the  Slavic  and  kindred  races. 

Christian  Centers 

We  are  now  erecting  what  are  called  Christian  centers. 
These  institutions  are  planned  in  general  along  the  lines 
of  social  settlements,  only  the  Christian  element  is  made 
dominant  and  the  centers  are  closely  related  to  one  of  our 
churches.  The  plans  are  now  under  way  for  building  a 
large  number  of  these  centers  at  the  points  where  the 
people  are  congregating. 

Much  better  provision  needs  to  be  made  at  once  for  our 
churches  and  missions.  Most  of  these  people  associate 
the  idea  of  religion  with  cathedrals.  We  clothe  our  re- 
ligion in  shacks.  The  process  will  not  work.  With  proper 
equipment  our  missions  could  multiply  the  value  of  their 
work.  We  are  approving  the  investment  of  several  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  for  this  purpose  during  the  next 
five  years. 


37 


The  American  Cities 

If  the  nation  is  to  be  Christian,  then  the  cities  must  be 
Christian.  Yet  the  battle  is  going  against  us  in  the  cities. 
In  Philadelphia  15  Baptist  churches  have  moved  or  died 
since  1870.  Twenty  years  ago  we  had  28  churches  on 
Manhattan  Island.  Now  we  have  only  9 self-supporting, 
white  English-speaking  churches,  and  5 of  these  are  sup- 
ported largely  from  their  endowments. 

The  Christian  forces  need  to  be  mobilized  for  a great 
united  campaign  to  restore  the  Christian  church  in  our 
American  cities.  We  ought  to  have  in  every  large  city  a 
Baptist  church  that  will  be  to  that  city  what  Tremont 
Temple  is  to  Boston.  These  churches  must  be  supple- 
mented by  churches  built  distinctly  for  the  new  Americans, 
polyglot  churches  if  need  be,  where  a great  social,  edu- 
cational and  evangelistic  ministry  can  be  carried  on, 
specially  fitted  to  reach  these  strangers  within  our  gates. 
In  addition  we  must  devote  more  attention  to  the  new 
suburbs. 

New  Social  Conditions 

The  war  has  made  all  things  new.  The  real  social 
issues  are  changing  rapidly.  Our  old  social  contest  was 
a war  over  wages  and  hours.  The  issue  to-day  is  as  to 
whether  all  capital  shall  be  made  public  property  and 
whether  one  man  shall  have  just  as  much  as  another. 

What  attitude  is  the  Christian  church  to  take  on  this 
problem?  The  new  issues  are  not  fundamentally  economic 
but  moral.  The  church  therefore  has  a relation  to  them 
of  necessity,  and  the  church  must  be  able  to  speak  au- 
thoritatively. But  to  do  so  the  church  must  have  ade- 
quate information  before  it  makes  up  its  mind  or  offers 
its  advice.  We  recommend,  therefore,  that  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention  take  steps  to  secure  the  co-operation 
of  other  denominations  in  securing  this  information  and  in 
arriving  at  conclusions. 


38 


The  Ministry 

We  have  rejoiced  most  heartily  in  the  success  of  the 
effort  to  raise  the  Morehouse  Memorial  million  for  the 
use  of  the  Ministers  and  Missionaries  Benefit  Board.  But 
our  Board  must  be  in  a position  in  the  near  future  not 
merely  to  grant  aid  to  men  who  are  in  distress,  but  also  to 
grant  pensions  to  all  our  ministers.  During  the  next  five 
years  our  fund  should  reach  at  least  310,000,000. 

But  the  churches  must  make  more  adequate  provision 
for  its  ministers  while  they  are  still  in  service.  A cam- 
paign should  be  carried  through  our  churches  to  secure 
higher  rates  of  salaries. 


General  Education 

If  we  are  to  carry  through  any  such  program  as  the 
committee  is  proposing,  we  must  make  provision  for  the 
training  of  leaders.  During  the  last  four  years  nearly 
316,000,000  have  been  added  to  the  equipment  and  en- 
dowment of  our  schools,  over  35,500,000  of  it  to  other 
colleges  at  home  and  abroad  than  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago. But  there  ought  to  be  added  to  the  endowment 
and  equipment  of  our  institutions  not  less  than  328,010,000. 
This  is  an  immense  sum,  but  it  is  to  be  scattered  among 
forty  different  institutions. 

Our  program  for  the  next  five  years  must  include  also 
a determined  effort  to  increase  the  number  of  Baptist 
boys  and  girls  in  school  and  college.  The  goal  for  our 
five-year  program  aimed  at  having  15,000  Baptist  stu- 
dents in  college  before  1921.  That  ideal  ought  to  be  kept 
constantly  before  us. 

The  educational  advance  ought  to  include  also  a better 
training  for  our  ministers. 

Our  task  is  to  induce  men  who  are  called  to  the  min- 
istry to  enter  the  colleges  and  seminaries. 


39 


Religious  Education 

The  term  religious  education  is  a comparatively  new 
one,  though  it  does  not  connote  a new  idea.  In  the  great 
commission  we  are  commanded  to  teach  and  to  train.  In 
the  last  few  years  new  emphasis  has  been  given  to  this 
task.  Our  great  instrument  is  the  Sunday  school,  though 
it  is  not  by  any  means  the  only  one.  In  the  development 
of  the  Sunday  school  we  have  witnessed  the  most  encour- 
aging advance  in  the  last  few  years.  Standards  have  been 
raised  in  the  matter  of  grading,  of  lessons,  and  in  the 
training  of  the  teachers.  We  need  a considerable  staff  of 
men  and  women  who  are  thoroughly  capable  and  well 
trained  to  visit  our  churches,  advise  with  them  regarding 
their  plans  of  work  and  help  them  to  put  modern  policies 
into  effect.  The  adjustment  so  fortunately  reached  be- 
tween two  of  our  great  societies  will  make  possible  the 
investment  of  large  amounts  of  money  each  year  in  the 
development  of  our  Sunday-school  work.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  significant  possibilities  in  our  whole  denomina- 
tional history.  We  have  approved  the  appointment  of 
seventy-five  specialists  to  this  field  and  the  increased 
budget  necessary  to  finance  their  work. 

We  must  now  look  forward  to  putting  our  work  in  the 
church  schools  on  an  entirely  new  basis.  So  long  as  we 
confine  our  instruction  in  religion  to  one-half  hour  a week, 
we  shall  always  secure  unsatisfactory  results.  Our  Sun- 
day schools  must  be  extended  to  week-day  schools. 

During  the  past  few  years  encouraging  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  grading  of  our  schools.  We  commend 
our  educational  department  for  the  determined  effort  it 
is  making  to  induce  all  our  schools  to  rise  to  the  modern 
basis.  We  must  work  toward  the  day  when  the  church 
can  employ,  for  part  time  at  least,  a staff  of  teachers 
whose  work  the  church  can  control. 


40 


We  have  about  9,000  schools  in  our  territory,  yet  there 
are  great  sections  of  our  country  where  there  are  no  schools 
at  all.  New  schools  ought  to  be  established  in  hundreds 
of  places.  This  requires  the  time  of  men  and  women  who 
are  competent  to  make  adequate  surveys  and  determine 
where  schools  are  needed  and  can  be  sustained.  We 
should  have  a larger  staff  of  workers  for  this  purpose,  and 
we  approve  the  appointment  of  twenty-four  new  workers 
of  this  type. 

One  of  the  best  means  of  advancing  religious  education 
is  through  the  distribution  of  the  Bible.  We  have  had 
many  men  in  our  employ  largely  for  this  purpose.  The 
number  should  be  increased,  however.  At  the  present 
time  we  are  engaged  in  the  task  of  issuing  the  Bible  in 
various  tongues  for  the  use  of  the  new  Americans. 

Our  publishing  department  is  urged  to  secure  funds  at 
an  early  date  for  enlarging  the  plant,  that  it  may  increase 
its  business.  We  should  be  constantly  issuing  books  by 
our  own  authors  and  by  others  which  will  assist  in  the 
development  of  a strong,  intelligent  constituency. 

Our  Progress 

The  number  of  our  churches  has  increased  since  1894 
from  8,583  to  10,666,  while  the  membership  of  these 
churches  has  increased  from  900,193  to  1,494,343.  The 
average  number  of  members  per  church  in  1894  was  104; 
to-day  it  is  161.  The  growth  in  membership  has  been  con- 
stant and  never  more  encouraging  than  during  the  last 
few  years.  From  1894  to  1918  our  ministry  has  increased 
by  22  per  cent.  The  value  of  our  church  property  has 
steadily  increased  for  twenty-five  years,  having  more  than 
doubled  in  that  period.  Last  year  we  reported  that  our 
property  was  worth  $114,817,300.  Our  contributions 
toward  current  expenses  have  increased  constantly  from 
$5,754,264  in  1894  to  $13,978,982  in  1918,  an  increase  of 


41 


143  per  cent.  During  this  period  our  total  contributions 
have  increased  from  $8,136,789  to  $17,351,524,  an  increase 
of  113  per  cent. 

Denominational  Press 

Our  greatest  hindrance  to  advance  to-day  is  that  we 
are  not  reaching  our  constituency.  We  have  no  way  of 
getting  the  facts  before  them.  The  total  circulation  of 
our  nine  Baptist  weekly  papers  (exclusive  of  Missions)  is 
less  than  50,000.  We  have  1,500,000  members  in  the 
North.  We  must  have  a constituency  of  2,500,000. 
Granted  that  each  paper  is  read  by  3 different  people, 
then  out  of  2,500,000,  150,000  are  being  made  intelligent 
regarding  our  denominational  work.  We  can  never  reach 
a high  goal  with  this  handicap. 

We  recommend  that  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention 
enter  the  field  of  journalism  and  issue  a paper  owned  and 
controlled  by  the  denomination.  This  must  be  a paper  of 
outstanding  strength  which  will  command  the  attention 
of  our  people  everywhere.  It  would  be  better  if  the  new 
paper  could  have  a clear  field  to  itself,  though  this  is  not 
necessary.  The  denomination  needs  such  an  influence  to 
unify  its  thought  and  action,  — an  influence  that  will 
drive  us  together  in  co-operation.  With  such  a paper  as 
this  our  chance  of  carrying  through  this  program  would 
be  greatly  increased. 

Recommendations 

The  recommendations  of  the  committee  as  adopted  by 
the  Convention  will  be  found  on  pages  17-19  of  this  book. 


42 


THE  MISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH 


BY  MRS.  LATHAN  A.  CRANDALL 


Never  since  the  time  of  the  Reformation  has  the  church 
of  Jesus  Christ  been  subjected  to  such  keen  scrutiny  as 
in  this  decade.  The  object  of  scorn  on  the  part  of  some, 
of  studied  indifference  on  the  part  of  others,  of  anxious 
and  loyal  defence  of  many  and  of  calm  confidence  of  not 
a few,- — the  church  is  facing  a testing  time.  This  is  the 
day  of  reckoning  for  every  established  organization.  The 
explosion  which  has  shaken  the  world  to  its  center  has 
left  us  still  bewildered,  and  men  are  but  beginning  to 
take  a new  inventory.  We  find,  on  the  one  hand,  tre- 
mendous liabilities  of  physical  death,  misery  and  disease, 
the  erasure  of  homes  and  cities,  moral  breakdowns,  hatred, 
greed,  wanton  selfishness.  On  the  side  of  assets  we  dis- 
cover a new  patriotism,  a new  and  deeper  rooted  faith  in 
God,  a world  outlook,  a fine  unselfishness.  Zoroaster 
conceived  of  the  universe  as  being  in  the  grip  of  two 
powerful  warring  intelligences:  one,  “Good,”  typified  by 
fire  and  light,  the  other,  “Evil,”  symbolized  by  darkness. 
This  is  a graphic,  if  crude,  presentation  of  a great  truth, 
a truth  of  which  we  are  keenly  conscious  in  this  day  of 
reckoning.  Two  forces  are  at  work  in  the  world,  one 
constructive  and  the  other  destructive.  We  call  this  the 
time  of  reconstruction,  but  we  must  not  fail  to  take  note 
of  the  fact  that  there  are  those  who  would  tear  down 
faster  than  others  can  build  up,  and,  in  this  crisis  which 
the  world  is  facing,  America  is  a large  factor  in  deter- 
mining which  force  shall  dominate  the  world.  Some  one 
has  said  that  if  America  goes  down  the  whole  world  must 


43 


go  down  with  her,  and  civilization  will  begin  again  from 
the  bottom  her  upward  climb. 

To  what  does  America  owe  her  place  of  prestige  and 
leadership?  Any  schoolboy  would  answer  proudly,  “To 
her  fundamental  principle  of  individual  liberty.”  Whence 
came  this  idea  so  peculiarly  American?  Every  lover  of 
America’s  story  knows  that  it  was  born  of  the  determi- 
nation for  soul  liberty  for  which  our  forefathers  endured 
persecution  unto  death.  The  ideals  upon  which  America 
was  founded  were  religious  ideals,  and  by  our  adherence 
to  those  ideals  shall  we  determine  the  country’s  future, 
and  who  knows  but  the  world’s  future. 

There  are  those  who  assert  that  the  church  has  lost  its 
vitality,  and  that,  whatever  may  have  been  its  contribu- 
tion to  human  upbuilding,  it  does  not  fit  this  age.  Not  the 
staunchest  upholders  of  the  church  maintain  that  it  is  100 
per  cent  efficient.  Would  that  it  were!  But  if  it  is  doing 
something  it  has  vitality  and  there  is  hope  of  increasing 
strength  and  usefulness. 

Two  questions  which  suggest  themselves  are,  “How  did 
the  church  come  to  be?”  and,  “Has  it  still  a function  in 
society?”  If  the  church  could  be  wiped  out  to-day  a new 
one  would  spring  up  to-morrow,  for  where  there  is  a com- 
mon interest  people  instinctively  group  themselves  to- 
gether. It  is  the  abnormal,  morbid  man  who  is  solitary. 
Something  within  the  human  breast  says,  “There  is  one 
of  your  own  kind;  get  together;”  and  the  club,  the 
fraternity,  the  church  springs  into  being,  and  by  the  law 
of  associated  effort  two  working  together  are  worth  ten 
standing  alone.  There  seems  to  be  that  in  the  religious 
motive  which  binds  people  in  a way  that  is  peculiarly 
strong  and  tender.  By  the  same  token,  religious  differ- 
ences are  sometimes  the  most  bitter  because  they  arise 
from  convictions  which  reach  the  deepest  wellsprings  of 
life. 

In  the  days  when  Christianity  was  young  it  was  perse- 

44 


cution  which  cemented  the  little  band  together,  and, 
through  the  centuries,  when  a Catherine  de  Medici  or  a 
Philip  of  Spain  seared  the  land  with  fires  of  inquisition, 
the  psychological  truth  became  a maxim  that  “The 
blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church.” 

The  unquenchable  vitality  of  the  church  would  seem  to 
suggest  that  it  has  a mission  to  perform.  The  primary 
mission  of  the  church  is  not  to  preserve  its  own  life  for  its 
own  sake  but  to  saturate  human  society  with  the  spirit 
of  Jesus.  This  was  the  mission  of  Jesus  himself,  and  to 
His  followers  He  committed  the  extension  of  the  work 
which  He  began. 

To  create  personalities  in  likeness  to  himself  was  Jesus’ 
aim,  not  to  give  formulas  and  symbols  nor  rules  of  con- 
duct. For  some  of  us,  at  least,  the  Christian  life  would  be 
a far  simpler  thing  than  it  is  if  we  had  rules  of  conduct  for 
each  day  or  each  new  problem  as  it  arises.  In  the  school 
days  of  our  elders  printed  rules  were  supposed  to  govern 
every  possible  contingency,  and  the  positive  commands 
were  exceeded  in  number  only  by  the  prohibitions. 
Modern  methods  in  the  college  and  in  the  home  are 
gradually  being  changed  according  to  the  philosophy  of 
Jesus,  that  the  only  true  way  to  form  character  is  to  grow 
it  from  within  rather  than  to  secure  outward  conformity 
by  the  use  of  a police  force  and  penalty  for  disobedience. 
Jesus  said,  “Except  your  righteousness  exceed  the  right- 
eousness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,”  which  consisted  in 
strict  adherence  to  prescribed  formulas,  “ye  cannot  enter 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.”  He  wanted  that  personal  rela- 
tionship with  His  followers  that  would  lead  them  to  do 
right  without  being  told,  because  they  were  right  at  heart. 
So  he  gave  not  rules  but  principles,  not  mechanical  formu- 
las but  the  impelling  power  of  love.  It  is  far  easier  to 
teach  people  to  obey  rules  than  principles,  to  live  in  the 
field  of  legalism  than  on  the  plain  of  inspiration,  as  it  is 
easier  to  create  an  army  of  puppets  than  an  army  built  of 

45 


men  of  initiative,  but  the  results  are  not  so  satisfac- 
tory. 

Jesus  tells  us  that  His  object  in  coming  to  this  world 
was  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God.  We  will  leave  to 
theologians  the  technical  discussion  of  the  meaning  of  this 
term,  but  Jesus  made  so  clear  what  constitutes  that  King- 
dom that  the  wayfaring  man  may  understand.  He  came 
to  a people  who  were  hoping  for  a renewal  of  the  Kingdom 
of  David,  which,  to  them,  was  synonymous  with  God’s 
reign  on  earth.  Jesus  gave  them  an  ideal  and  a hope  so 
much  higher  and  broader  than  that  upon  which  their 
hearts  had  been  set  that  they  could  not  readjust  their 
minds  to  the  new  conception;  also  its  very  simplicity  was 
baffling  to  them  as  it  oftentimes  is  to  us.  I suppose  Jesus 
used  the  word  “Kingdom”  so  frequently  because  it  was 
the  expression  which  would  inevitably  catch  their  atten- 
tion and  strike  a responsive  chord,  and  also  because 
through  the  familiar  and  cherished  thing  He  would  lead 
them  up  to  the  fuller  and  spiritual  conception  of  the  same 
thing.  So  by  parables  He  taught  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  the  mastery  of  God  over  the  human  heart. 
Wherever  His  teachings  take  root  and  His  spirit  rules  in 
the  heart  there  is  God’s  Kingdom. 

He  said,  “Except  a man  be  born  from  above  he  cannot 
see  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  Evidently  a change  in  man’s 
fundamental  nature,  a renewal  of  life,  is  essential  even  to 
seeing  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  history  of  the  race  fur- 
nishes proof  that  man  needs  such  a renewal.  Persecu- 
tions, wars,  class  hatred,  barbarities  we  can  no  longer 
ascribe  to  a benighted  past  alone.  When  we  were  feeling 
content  with  our  progress  and  dreaming  of  universal 
brotherhood,  came  the  collapse  of  the  structure,  and  we 
discovered  that  a part,  at  least,  of  the  foundation  was 
sand.  Out  of  the  ddbris  arises  what  was  permanent  and 
stable,  and  society  can  be  rebuilt  only  in  harmony  with 
those  eternal  truths. 


46 


The  test  of  membership  in  Christ’s  Kingdom  He  placed 
on  the  plane  where  men  live.  So  practical  and  common- 
place is  it  that  no  charge  of  mysticism  can  be  brought. 
By  teaching  and  by  example  Jesus  shows  us  that  service 
is  the  badge  of  His  Kingdom;  not  greatness  but  humility, 
not  eminence  but  helpfulness.  And  He  told  us  that  with- 
out His  spirit,  His  attitude  toward  life,  we  are  none  of  His. 
We  cannot  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  with  heads  high 
and  exacting  our  rights. 

What  is  the  trouble  with  the  industrial  conference  that 
it  should  end  in  a fiasco?  If  each  side  in  all  industrial 
disputes  were  asking,  “How  can  we  help  each  other?” 
and  “How  can  we  serve  humanity?”  would  it  be  so  hard 
for  them  to  come  together?  Jesus’  attitude  toward  life 
must  be  our  attitude.  His  ideal  of  life  never  changes  and 
it  fits  all  circumstances.  Listen  to  His  stern  rebuke  of 
Peter,  which  follows  surprisingly  close  upon  that  gracious 
word  of  approbation,  “Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona.” 
The  rebuke  was  severe  because  Peter’s  words  which  called 
it  forth  were  a stab  at  the  very  heart  of  Jesus’  ideal  of 
life.  Peter  would  shake  Him  from  His  immovable  purpose 
to  accept  the  cost  of  His  high  aim;  and  in  the  voice  of  His 
friend  He  hears  an  echo  of  the  words  of  the  enemy  spoken 
in  that  hour  fraught  with  such  measureless  meaning  to 
the  human  race.  In  that  hour  Jesus  marked  out  the  path 
for  Himself  and  for  all  who  would  follow  Him.  It  is  the 
path  which  crosses  self-interest  and  exalts  service  to  hu- 
manity at  any  cost.  Society  will  be  recreated  and  recon- 
structed only  as  the  spirit  of  service  becomes  controlling 
and  general  rather  than  sporadic  and  exceptional.  In 
Atlantic  City  some  months  ago  the  United  States  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  adopted  the  following  minute:  “The 
principle  of  service  is  basic  in  international  relationships.” 
This  finding  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  composed  of 
the  leading  business  men  of  our  country,  is  one  of  many 


47 


evidences  that  the  leaven  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus  is  working 
as  He  promised  it  would  do. 

Out  of  the  war  has  come  a great  emergence  of  unselfish 
service.  Looking  back  upon  those  terrible  days  when 
cruelty  was  rampant,  the  otherwise  universal  gloom  was 
relieved  by  glorious  unselfishness.  “Dollar  a year”  busi- 
ness men,  physicians,  nurses,  Red  Cross  wrorkers  gave 
themselves  in  unstinted  service.  An  American  major  who 
fell  in  battle  wrote  but  a little  time  before  his  death,  “Self 
lies  buried  on  the  fields  of  France.”  Men  like  him  have 
created  an  atmosphere  in  which  it  should  be  easy  to  follow 
in  the  path  of  self-forgetfulness.  It  is  the  first  business  of  % 
the  Christian  church  to  bury  herself  in  service  to  the 
lonely  and  the  friendless  in  our  great  cities  of  America, 
and  to  the  needy  throughout  the  world.  This  is  the  psy- 
chological moment  for  Christianity  to  capitalize  the  leisure 
time  which  has  been  discovered  in  the  last  four  years,  and 
the  self-effacing  devotion  which  has  kept  hearts  from 
breaking  under  the  strain  of  war.  The  Red  Cross  can  in 
large  measure  be  supplanted,  thank  God!  by  the  White 
Cross.  Instead  of  making  sponges  and  folding  gauze  for 
our  wounded  boys,  the  urgent  call  comes  for  skilled  fingers 
to  prepare  similar  dressings  for  emergency  work  in  Chris- 
tian centers,  for  hospitals  in  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  in  China,  India  and  Africa.  Our  young  men  and 
young  women  who  have  returned  from  war  service  may 
find  a new  world  opening  up  before  them.  Latin  America, 
“the  converging  point  of  the  world’s  commerce,”  presents 
a fascinating  field  for  service.  Beautiful  for  situation, 
with  a future  of  untold  possibilities,  its  people  are  showing 
a new  interest  in  religious  things.  Not  long  ago  a repre- 
sentative of  the  Mexican  government,  speaking  at  a dinner 
given  by  a certain  civic  and  commerce  association,  said, 
“Don’t  send  us  guns;  send  us  teachers  and  missionaries,” 
and  this  to  a group  of  business  men  considering  political 
and  economic  relations. 


48 


The  weaker,  struggling  nations  beget  a type  of  patriot- 
ism that  America  does  not  develop.  Citizens  of  America 
have  had  such  sublime  confidence  in  her  success,  her 
strength,  her  ability  to  cope  with  her  own  problems 
and  with  all  the  world,  if  necessary,  that  the  sort  of 
patriotism  which  says  “My  country  needs  me ” has  not 
been  awakened  in  any  large  degree.  We  are  beginning 
to  find  that  our  beloved  America  needs  every  one  of  us, 
and  the  slogan  of  the  hour  for  clubs,  schools,  factories, 
and  churches  is  “Americanization.”  This  is  a real  job, 
not  one  to  play  at;  and  it  offers  a serious  undertaking  to 
every  one  of  America’s  citizens.  We  must  make  friends 
for  our  country  of  the  foreign  born,  and  of  those  who  are 
American  born  but  not  American  in  spirit.  Secretary 
Lane  has  said:  “America  can  no  more  exist  one-third 
foreign  and  two-thirds  American  than  in  1861  it  could 
exist  one-half  slave  and  one-half  free.”  Except  for  war 
work,  no  such  call  to  enlistment  for  service  has  ever  been 
sounded  by  our  country.  Our  Home  Mission  Societies 
are  offering  a splendid  program  for  Christian  American- 
ization, soul-stirring  in  its  appeal  to  every  Christian 
patriot. 

America’s  principle  of  the  separation  of  church  and 
state  has  been  so  strongly  emphasized  that,  peradventure, 
the  church  has  gone  to  the  extreme  of  neglect  in  its  failure 
to  be  heard  in  national  affairs.  There  are  critics  many 
and  prophets  of  disaster  not  a few,  but  how  often  from 
any  Christian  organization  do  we  hear  one  constructive 
criticism  or  a suggestion  that  into  labor  disputes  there  be 
introduced  some  of  the  pronouncements  of  Jesus  regarding 
the  conduct  of  life?  If,  as  is  so  often  said,  the  world’s 
industrial  workers  reverence  Jesus,  while  deriding  the 
church,  why  could  not  the  experiment  be  tried  of  attempt- 
ing to  come  together  in  the  practice  of  Jesus’  teachings? 
It  would  be  the  day  that  would  change  the  world. 

I can  still  hear  the  ring  of  Mr.  Raymond  Robbins’  voice 

49 


when  he  cried,  “America  has  yet  time.  She  still  has  time, 
but  not  too  much  time.”  He  was  pleading  for  Christian 
people  to  face  the  crisis  that  is  staring  us  in  the  face,  and 
by  putting  the  “Christian  conscience  in  action  through 
and  through  our  national  life”  to  avert  the  upheavals 
which  he  had  seen  in  Russia.  Shall  the  church  remain 
aloof  and  silent  while  political  forces  attack  these  great 
problems  alone?  Bernard  Shaw  is  reported  to  have  said: 
“In  the  practice  of  the  principles  of  Jesus  is  the  only 
salvation  of  society.” 

In  a democracy  such  as  ours  neither  church  nor  state 
will  dominate  the  other,  and  yet  the  spiritual  forces  which 
shall  preserve  the  foundations  of  our  national  structure 
must  emanate  from  those  who  are  in  vital  union  with  the 
Head  of  the  church.  One  of  the  best  thinkers  of  our  day 
has  made  this  suggestion:  “That  the  Northern  Baptist 
Convention  (a)  take  the  initiative  in  securing  the  co- 
operation of  such  other  denominations  as  may  be  later 
determined,  in  organizing  and  supporting  a permanent 
commission  for  investigation  into  and  report  upon  near 
and  remote  causes  and  details  of  any  economic  class  con- 
flicts which  may  develop  in  this  country;  ( b ) that  the 
commission  be  instructed  to  study  such  conflicts  on  the 
ground,  not  as  attempted  arbitrators  but  as  accredited 
representatives  of  associated  churches,  with  the  aim  of,  so 
far  as  possible,  exhausting  all  the  material  facts  in  the 
given  case,  especially  those  which  have  any  appreciable 
bearing  upon  the  principles  of  justice.”  The  writer  in 
further  detail  sets  forth  a practical  working  plan  for  the 
application  of  “Christian  principles  to  the  special  con- 
flicts of  ideas  about  justice  which  develop  under  our 
present  form  of  industrial  organization.”  May  the  day 
speedily  come  when  Christians  of  every  creed  shall  see  the 
urgency  of  getting  together  for  such  a service  to  humanity! 
Would  that  those  who  long  for  the  establishment  of  God’s 
Kingdom  in  the  world  might  see,  as  disruptive  forces  have 


50 


seen  it,  the  tremendous  truth  in  the  idea,  “We  can  do 
anything  in  this  world  if  we  get  together.”  And,  under  the 
leadership  of  God,  “anything”  is  sure  to  be  the  right  thing. 

With  our  convictions  as  to  the  separation  of  church  and 
state,  our  children  know  less  about  the  moral  principles 
which  underlie  this  so-called  Christian  nation  than  do  the 
children  of  any  non-Christian  country  about  the  ethics  of 
their  race.  As  children  are  trained  less  and  less  within 
the  home,  more  and  more  within  the  school,  has  the 
church  no  voice  of  admonition  regarding  the  most  im- 
portant phase  of  the  development  of  our  youth?  By  our 
very  silence  on  this  vital  matter  the  valuation  which  we 
place  upon  the  ethical  training  of  our  future  citizens  must, 
in  their  judgment,  be  nil.  A few  days  since  in  one  of  the 
daily  papers  was  an  editorial  containing  this  sentence, 
“All  will  not  be  right  with  the  world  until  men  are  domi- 
nated and  motivated  by  the  spirit  that  means  religion.” 
With  increasing  frequency  does  the  secular  press  stress 
the  spiritual  side  of  life,  and  we  must  not  fail  to  stress  it  in 
the  life  of  our  young  people. 

Historians  tell  us  that  the  framers  of  our  Constitution, 
after  four  weeks  of  seemingly  fruitless  debate,  were  about 
to  adjourn  in  disgust  and  despair.  Differing  convictions 
concerning  what  should  constitute  the  theory  of  our 
government  appeared  to  be  irreconcilable.  At  the  opening 
session  of  the  fifth  week,  facing  the  determination  of 
many  to  abandon  the  momentous  undertaking,  which  up 
to  this  day  animates  and  glorifies  the  life  of  this  great  na- 
tion, Benjamin  Franklin,  not  known  for  the  display  of  his 
piety,  made  this  remarkable  statement:  “Mr.  Chairman, 
we  have  been  groping  for  four  weeks  in  darkness,  searching 
for  the  political  truth,  and  have  not  found  it.  How  is  it 
that  we  have  not  invoked  the  divine  guidance  of  the 
Father  of  light  upon  our  proceedings?  The  longer  I live 
and  the  more  I know,  the  more  I believe  that  God  governs 
the  affairs  of  men,  and  if  the  sparrow  cannot  fall  without 

51 


His  notice,  is  it  probable  that  an  empire  can  rise  without 
his  assistance?  ‘Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they 
labor  in  vain  that  build  it.’  I firmly  believe  this  and  I 
also  believe  that  without  His  concurring  aid,  we  shall  suc- 
ceed in  our  political  building  no  better  than  the  builders 
of  the  tower  of  Babel.  I therefore  move  you  that  from 
henceforth  we  open  our  daily  deliberations  with  morning 
prayer.”  “And  from  that  moment,”  says  a commentator, 
“they  began  to  make  progress  in  the  framing  and  adop- 
tion of  that  fame-crowned  document.” 

When  Jesus  had  finished  his  earthly  career,  he  left  His 
disciples  custodians  of  great  principles  to  which  all  genera- 
tions of  His  followers,  whether  in  the  visible  church  or 
not,  have  become  heirs.  It  is  the  union  of  these  followers 
of  Jesus  in  a common  aim  which  shall  create  an  atmosphere 
favorable  for  the  extension  of  the  principles  of  Jesus.  A 
home  has  its  atmosphere,  due  to  father  and  mother,  or 
to  the  controlling  spirit  of  that  home.  A college,  a com- 
munity, has  its  atmosphere  which  gives  that  school,  that 
community  an  air  of  hospitality  to  those  of  like  purposes. 
What  boundless  possibilities  has  the  church  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  create  an  atmosphere  which  shall  be  a medium 
for  His  influence!  “The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  in  the 
midst  of  you.”  When  the  Master  uttered  these  words 
that  invisible  influence  was  so  slight  that  people  were  not 
aware  of  its  great  power,  nor  that  the  atmosphere  being 
created  by  those  who  were  partaking  of  His  spirit  would 
ultimately  permeate  the  entire  world. 

The  method  of  Jesus  was  that  of  a propagandist.  We 
are  accustomed  to  think  of  propaganda  as  the  spreading 
of  an  idea;  but  it  is  only  as  ideas  take  hold  upon  life  and 
result  in  action,  harmful  or  helpful  to  society,  that  propa- 
ganda becomes  a vital  force.  Ideas  that  stop  in  men’s 
minds  are  ineffective.  Jesus  was  the  giver  of  great  ideas, 
but,  more  than  that,  He  gave  and  still  gives  power  to  the 
human  heart  to  live  those  ideas  and  to  change  society  by 


52 


their  operation.  The  church  may  be  the  greatest  propa- 
gandist of  the  age  for  two  reasons:  First,  the  church  has 
the  machinery  for  reaching  all  the  people.  No  other  or- 
ganization is  in  its  appeal  absolutely  unlimited  by  race, 
color,  occupation  or  by  intellectual  or  financial  advantage; 
and  every  believer  in  the  church  should,  by  example  as 
well  as  by  precept,  attest  the  fact  that  the  church  is  the 
most  perfect  and  far-reaching  democracy  conceivable. 
Second,  the  church  has  unequaled  opportunity  for  her 
propaganda  because  of  the  nature  of  the  propaganda 
itself,  which  concerns  the  most  vital  interest  of  the  human 
heart.  There  is  no  life  to  which  does  not  come,  sooner  or 
later,  the  question  of  God  and  his  relation  to  our  life  now 
and  hereafter.  After  the  little  lad,  Abraham  Lincoln,  had 
seen  his  mother  laid  away  under  the  pile  of  stones  that 
marked  her  resting  place  on  the  lonely  hillside,  he  lingered 
for  months  by  the  spot,  thinking  over  what  she  had  told 
him  about  God  and  Heaven,  for  she  was  his  only  pastor  and 
teacher.  And  to  the  infrequent  passer-by  the  little 
Lincoln  would  put  this  question:  “Be  you  a preacher- 
man?”  To  the  answering  question,  “Why,  my  boy?”  he 
would  say,  “Because  my  mother  is  dead.”  Humanity’s 
heart  turns  to  the  source  of  help  and  light  when  darkness 
falls  and  sorrow;  and  the  love  that  responds  to  humanity’s 
need  sets  no  boundaries  to  its  outreach. 

Love,  moreover,  always  seeks  to  express  itself  by  some 
tangible  demonstration.  Mary  would  anoint  the  feet  of 
her  Lord,  not  so  much  to  show  Him  her  devotion  as  to 
satisfy  the  love  welling  up  within  her  own  heart.  The 
mother  who  gave  her  son  for  humanity’s  sake  was  not 
content  with  providing  for  his  comfort  to  the  utmost  of 
her  ability,  but  her  love  took  in  all  the  boys,  and  the 
deeper  her  anxiety,  the  more  untiring  was  her  activity. 
And  father,  who  perhaps  had  not  time  to  live  out  his  love 
for  his  boy,  suddenly  found  time  to  work  for  the  Liberty 
Loan,  to  drive  his  car  for  the  wounded,  to  cut  and  fold 

53 


bandages.  And  then  when  that  awful  day  came  when 
they  knew  that  never  on  this  side  could  they  go  to  meet 
their  son,  they  tried  to  hide  their  grief  while  they  gave  a 
glad  welcome  to  hundreds  of  other  boys.  Thousands  of 
longing  hearts  have  learned  the  vicariousness  of  giving  as 
well  as  of  suffering. 

We  have  learned,  too,  to  visualize  those  whom  we 
never  expect  to  see  and  to  take  their  burdens  upon  our 
hearts  and  to  help,  if  may  be,  to  bear  their  griefs.  We 
can  never  lose  the  world  vision  having  seen  the  destitute 
of  Armenia,  of  Belgium  and  of  France.  We  can  never 
be  content  with  ministering  only  to  those  who  pass  over 
our  own  threshold.  We  have  been  ministering  to  the 
whole  world  and  we  cannot  cease.  Jesus  knew  us  better 
than  we  know  ourselves  when  He  said,  “Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me.”  Love  that  reaches  down  to  the  depths  of 
the  soul  reaches  out  to  the  ends  of  the  earth;  and  love 
that  is  begotten  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  content  with  less 
than  giving  the  best.  With  some  it  has  become  rather 
the  fashion  to  substitute  the  good  gifts  of  social  better- 
ment for  the  greatest  gift  of  social  regeneration.  Jesus 
said,  “I  am  come  that  ye  might  have  life.”  A purpose 
so  great  that  it  brought  the  Son  of  God  to  a life  of  min- 
istry cannot  have  secondary  place  with  those  who  are 
continuing  His  ministry.  With  Him  the  life  of  the  spirit 
was  of  paramount  importance. 

A Buddhist  priest  in  India  was  the  victim  of  thieves 
who  stole  his  clothing  from  the  shrine  where  he  served. 
“I  must  leave  this  village  and  go  where  the  people  are 
good,”  said  the  priest.  Into  this  very  neighborhood,  not 
long  thereafter,  came  a Christian  missionary  and  planted 
a church.  Thieves  were  no  barrier  to  him.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  for  such  that  he  had  left  home  and  friends 
in  the  spirit  of  Him  who  said,  “I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous  but  sinners  to  repentance.”  The  Buddhist 


54 


priest,  consistent  with  his  religious  views  of  life,  was 
occupied  solely  with  the  process  of  self-purification.  The 
Christian  missionary,  following  the  example  of  his  Lord, 
thought  last  of  himself.  What  is  true  of  the  individual 
is  true  of  a cult.  A religion  which  is  concerned  primarily 
with  its  own  self-preservation  is  a waning  force.  Chris- 
tianity in  its  advance  is  demonstrating  the  great  truth 
that  “He  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  the  same  shall 
find  it.”  The  church  of  Christ  will  shape  the  world’s 
life  in  the  measure  in  which  she  follows  her  Lord  and 
accepts  His  valuations  of  life  as  her  own. 


THE  LOCAL  CHURCH  PROGRAM 


BY  REV.  A.  W.  BEAVEN 


We  are  told  that  the  world  faces  a bigger  crisis  now 
than  during  the  war;  that  the  principles  it  adopts  in  the 
settlement  of  its  problems  in  the  next  five  years  will  deter- 
mine its  trend  for  generations  to  come.  We  are  told,  too, 
that  no  other  body  of  principles  offers  so  constructive  a 
program  for  the  solution  of  the  political,  social  and  eco- 
nomic problems  of  the  time  as  the  principles  of  Christian- 
ity. If  these  things  are  true,  and  no  one  of  us  can  doubt  it, 
then  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  institution  in 
society  specifically  organized  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
these  principles  before  society,  and  getting  them  adopted 
in  its  life,  has  both  the  most  tremendous  opportunity  and 
obligation  of  its  entire  existence. 

It  is  in  the  light  of  this  situation  that  we  see  the  various 
denominational  agencies  undertaking  programs  that  would 
have  staggered  us  a few  years  ago.  Our  Methodist  breth- 
ren have  undertaken  with  amazing  success  an  immense 
program.  Our  Presbyterian  friends  are  in  the  midst  of  an 
enterprise  that  is  a credit  to  them  and  a challenge  to  the 
Christian  world.  Our  own  Baptist  Board  of  Promotion  is 
challenging  us  with  great  plans  and  objectives.  None  of 
us  can  but  thank  God  it  is  so.  The  one  thing  we  could  not 
stand  now  would  be  for  the  church  to  have  no  real  plan 
for  a great  contribution  in  a day  like  this.  If  our  denomi- 
national leadership  were  to  offer  us  no  program  which 
called  for  the  largest  effort  and  greatest  sacrifice  now,  we 
would  lose  our  self-respect  and  “Ichabod”  would  soon  be 
written  over  our  churches.  But  the  one  thing  we  must 


56 


remember  is  that  denominations  do  not  move  as  a mass; 
their  plans  must  fail  unless  they  actually  reach  the  local 
church.  It  is  there  the  whole  system  touches  the  people. 


The  Place  of  the  Local  Church 

As  Baptists  and  church  members  we  need  to  say  this 
over  and  over  again  to  ourselves.  The  whole  forward 
movement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  depends  on  how  far 
the  local  church  can  apply  its  methods,  spirit  and  purpose 
to  its  individual  members.  No  matter  how  splendid  the 
outline  may  be,  if  we  cannot  gear  up  our  local  church  to 
it  the  plan  must  fail.  It  would  be  like  having  an  army 
with  a fine  general  staff,  and  a fine  service  of  supply,  but 
which  would  fail  in  having  soldiers  at  the  front  who  would 
actually  do  the  fighting. 

Every  pastor  and  church  member  in  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention  needs  to  sit  down  and  have  a session 
with  himself,  and  realize  that,  first  and  foremost,  as  far 
as  he  and  his  church  are  concerned,  the  whole  movement 
is  a success  or  failure  in  so  far  as  he  and  his  church  succeed 
in  applying  it  to  themselves.  We  can  tell  whether  we 
really  want  it  to  succeed,  not  by  our  pious  wishes  or  gen- 
erous platitudes,  but  by  our  honest  efforts  to  make  it 
work  in  our  field.  We  need  to  stand  under  the  scrutiny 
of  such  questions  as  the  following:  If  every  church  in 
the  denomination  treats  the  suggestions  from  headquarters 
as  we  treat  them,  how  much  co-operation  could  be  de- 
veloped,? If  every  other  church  did  as  we  are  doing, 
would  it  make  the  denominational  effort  a success  or 
failure?  Before  the  God  who  challenges  us  to  live  up  to  the 
fullness  of  our  opportunity;  and  before  our  brethren  in 
other  churches  who  are  sacrificially  attempting  to  make 
the  great  effort  in  our  denomination  a success,  can  we 
do  other  than  determine  that  if  a devotional  and  prayer- 

57 


ful  spirit,  thoughtful  planning  and  abounding  sacrifices  can 
make  our  local  church  do  its  share  then,  by  God’s  help, 
our  part  shall  be  done? 

What  to  Do 

But  when  we  have  once  determined  that  our  part  of 
the  effort  is  to  be  a success,  what  steps  do  we  need  to 
take  to  achieve  that  success?  Certainly  three  things  are 
involved:  first,  to  develop  a church  consciousness  as  to 
what  is  our  share  of  the  task  to  be  done;  secondly,  to 
devise  ways  and  means  of  doing  it;  and  thirdly,  to  generate 
the  devotion,  the  enthusiasm  and  consecration  that  shall 
achieve  the  goal. 

General  Organization 

Why  not  let  every  church,  big  or  little,  city  or  country, 
appoint  the  best  promotional  committee  it  can,  putting 
the  task  before  its  strongest  men  and  women  as  even  a 
larger  chance  for  leadership  than  the  leadership  of  the 
great  war  activities  we  have  been  through?  Surely  we 
can  honestly  do  this  if  only  on  the  basis  that  these  needs 
are  constructive  and  for  the  uplifting  of  the  world,  while 
many  of  the  others  were  destructive  or,  at  the  best,  works 
of  mercy  to  ameliorate  the  effects  of  destructiveness. 
Let  the  committee  dedicate  itself  to  its  task  as  solemnly 
as  the  boys  on  the  battlefield  dedicated  themselves  to 
the  task  that  was  upon  them. 

Point  out  to  them  that  in  this  “war  after  the  war,” 
which,  in  many  ways,  is  more  serious  than  the  military 
war  itself,  we  are  dealing  with  spiritual  and  moral  factors, 
and  that  the  chance  for  big  administrative  leadership 
now  lies  with  any  group  that  can  affect  the  spiritual 
elements  of  society.  Show  how  the  church  has  such  a 
chance,  and  that  it  needs  its  best  men  and  women  to 
devote  themselves  to  service  as  they  did  in  the  war. 


58 


This  appeal  can  be  patriotic  as  well  as  religious,  for  who 
does  not  feel  the  peril  to  the  country  at  the  present 
time  of  a relapse  into  cold  materialism,  which  seems  to 
threaten  us,  and  who  does  not  recognize  the  danger  of 
the  wild,  whirling  and  godless  theories  which  can  only 
be  counteracted  by  thoughtful,  constructive,  moral  and 
spiritual  leadership? 

Get  the  committee  to  feel  the  heroic  missionary  spirit 
of  the  enterprise.  The  first  meeting  together  should  be 
strongly  devotional  and  marked  by  the  spirit  of  conse- 
cration. It  should  be  a miniature  “haystack  prayer 
meeting”  so  far  as  the  spirit  is  concerned,  and  the  pastor 
could  well  afford  to  give  large  thought  to  the  preparation 
for  this  first  meeting  from  this  standpoint.  Perhaps  it 
might  be  well,  if  possible,  to  get  some  outstanding  de- 
nominational leader  who  might  be  near  by  to  come  in 
for  this  meeting. 

One  of  the  first  steps  that  should  naturally  be  taken  by 
the  committee,  as  soon  as  it  is  organized  and  attains 
self-consciousness,  is  to  proceed  as  the  denomination  has 
proceeded  and  conduct  a church  survey.  This  simply 
means  that  we  get  clearly  before  ourselves  what  we  are 
now  doing.  The  various  departments  of  the  church 
activities  should  be  given  to  the  various  members  of  the 
committee  to  investigate  and  report  findings.  For  any 
church,  large  or  small,  these  investigations  should  at 
least  cover  some  such  departments  and  questions  as  the 
following:  — 

/.  Membership 

What  proportion  are  resident  and  what  proportion  nonresident? 

What  is  being  done  to  solve  the  nonresident  problem? 

What  proportion  of  the  resident  membership  is  represented  by  an  aver- 
age morning  congregation? 

What  proportion  is  absolutely  worthless  to  the  church? 

What  proportion  is  actively  engaged  in  any  work  in  the  church  or  under 
church  auspices? 

Is  the  membership  increasing  or  decreasing? 

59 


What  proportion  of  accessions  to  membership  are  on  confession  of  faith? 

Is  any  definite  instruction  given  to  new  members  about  church  obliga- 
tions or  church  history  so  as  to  make  them  intelligent  in  their  church 
duty? 

2.  Evangelism 

What  definite  steps  are  being  taken  to  create  the  evangelistic  spirit  in 
the  church? 

Is  there  a personal  workers’  class? 

Does  all  the  personal  work  depend  on  the  pastor  or  are  others  engaged 
in  it? 

Are  there  prayer  groups? 

Does  the  church  capitalize  the  Easter  period  for  ingathering? 

3.  Stewardship 

How  many  tithers  in  the  church? 

What  proportion  of  the  membership  give  to  current  expense? 

What  proportion  of  the  membership  give  to  benevolence? 

What  proportion  of  the  money  given  to  either  cause  is  given  by  the  ten 
largest  givers? 

What  definite  steps  are  taken  to  instruct  the  people  in  stewardship? 

Are  new  members  given  any  adequate  information  on  this  point  when 
they  enter  the  membership? 

4.  Community  Responsibility 

What  opportunities  for  community  service  are  afforded  near  the  church? 

Is  there  a foreign-speaking  settlement  near  by? 

Is  there  any  special  work  being  done  for  it? 

Are  there  adjacent  fields  where  new  Sunday  schools  should  be  estab- 
lished ? 

Is  the  church  co-operating  with  any  of  the  neighborhood  agencies  for 
social  betterment? 

Is  any  worthy  attempt  being  made  to  secure  and  train  workers  for  com- 
munity enterprises? 

' 5.  World-wide  Effort 

Has  the  church  any  missionaries  from  its  membership? 

Is  any  definite  attempt  being  made  to  get  young  people  to  give  their 
lives  to  mission  work? 

Does  the  church  support  any  missionaries?  Could  it? 

How  much  larger  are  church  offerings  toward  world-wide  causes  than 
five  years  ago? 

How  many  mission  study  classes  are  held  among  men?  Among  women? 

How  many  mission  study  classes  among  the  young  people? 

How  many  subscribers  to  Missions? 


60 


Questions  that  will  lead  to  normal  survey  of  the  Sun- 
day school  are  indicated  in  the  standard  which  your 
county  Sunday  school  convention  will  furnish  you.  In 
case  this  fails,  write  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society  for  Sunday  school  standards. 

Standards  for  Young  Peoples’  Societies  can  be  secured 
from  the  Baptist  Young  Peoples’  Union  headquarters, 
through  the  Publication  Society,  or  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  Christian  Endeavor  at  Boston,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Many  other  departments  of  the  church’s  life  and  ac- 
tivities should  be  investigated.  The  above  list  is  not 
given  as  exhaustive  but  merely  suggestive,  to  get  before 
us  the  facts  of  our  present  situation. 


A Church  Standard 

When  we  know  what  we  are  doing  we  should,  naturally, 
next  inquire  how  it  compares  with  what  we  should  be 
doing  if  we  did  our  share.  In  formulating  our  standard 
it  is  necessary  to  know  what  others  are  doing.  We  may 
get  some  help  from  our  own  ideas,  but  it  will  also  be 
valuable  to  look  around.  Our  Baptist  denomination  has 
too  often  taken  the  form  of  being  smugly  satisfied  with 
what  we  are  doing  and  failing  to  realize  how  absolutely 
inadequate  it  is. 

Many  a church  has  gone  on  complacently  securing  few 
decisions  for  Christ;  securing  few  additional  member- 
ships; securing  no  young  people  who  would  give  their 
lives  to  the  Master  in  the  ministry,  or  in  the  mission 
field;  rendering  no  community  service;  and  has  been 
satisfied  with  itself  because  it  has  been  keeping  the  field 
going,  keeping  the  church  open,  when  if  it  had  looked 
around  it  could  not  have  helped  but  be  ashamed  that 
others,  with  no  better  opportunities,  were  passing  it  at 
every  point.  Others  are  no  better  situated  and  yet  have 
great  ingatherings;  are  no  richer  and  yet  give  many  more 


61 


times  per  capita;  are  no  more  obligated  to  their  com- 
munities and  yet  render  vastly  more  service. 

We  are  not  to  approach  this  task  mainly  to  try  to  sur- 
pass some  other  church,  but  we  ought  to  be  ashamed  to 
look  our  brethren  or  our  Master  in  the  face  if  we  are  con- 
tent, because  of  our  laziness  and  ignorance,  to  sit  back 
and  complacently  pat  ourselves  on  the  back  over  what 
we  are  doing  when  what  we  are  doing  is  all  out  of  pro- 
portion to  our  share,  and  we  are  simply  by  our  attitude 
asking  some  one  else  to  do  our  part  of  the  work  and  pay 
our  part  of  the  bills. 

The  Liberty  Bond  and  War  Chest  quotas  at  least  taught 
us  how  to  be  keenly  ashamed  of  ourselves  if  we  did  not 
stand  up  to  our  part  of  any  task  that  was  being  attempted 
by  the  whole  group. 

Financial  Standards 

In  looking  around  to  find  a standard  by  which  to  test 
ourselves  we  find  that  one  has  been  pretty  well  set  up, 
along  financial  lines,  by  our  apportionment.  But  even 
here  a church  may  be  apportioned  a smaller  share  than  it 
should  raise,  in  fairness,  simply  because  one  of  the  ele- 
ments considered  in  making  up  the  apportionment  is 
what  the  church  has  been  doing.  If  it  has  been  niggardly 
and  giving  little,  its  apportionment  is,  to  a certain  extent, 
smaller  than  if  the  church  had  been  previously  generous. 

A standard  for  our  Sunday  school  and  our  Young  Peo- 
ples’ Society  has  been  referred  to  above,  but,  as  yet,  we 
must  depend  largely  on  ourselves  to  develop  our  local 
church  standards  along  other  lines. 

The  committee  can,  in  many  cases,  determine  a sort  of 
minimum  standard  along  some  lines  by  comparing  their 
achievements  with  the  average  of  the  denomination  at 
large,  or  with  other  denominations.  Care  should  be  taken 
here  to  recognize  that  a church  may  be  obligated  by  its 
position  to  do  vastly  more  than  the  average. 

62 


The  committee  will  also  be  able  to  determine  whether 
its  church  is  at  all  meeting  its  opportunity  by  contrasting 
it  with  the  notable  achievements  of  other  churches,  situ- 
ated in  a somewhat  like  position.  Some  suggestions  for 
standards  might  be  secured  for  a rural  church  from  a book 
by  Warren  H.  Wilson  on  “The  Church  at  the  Center,” 
secured  from  the  Missionary  Education  Movement  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  in  New  York  City.  Standards 
for  churches  in  the  city  and  elsewhere  might  be  found  in 
books  on  church  efficiency  by  Dr.  Agar  of  our  own  Board, 
or  from  a book,  entitled  “Modern  Church  Management,” 
by  McGarrah,  published  by  the  Revell  Co.,  New  York  City. 

The  Church  Goals 

Whether  what  we  do  is  equal  to  what  others  are  doing 
at  this  time,  however,  is  a small  matter  contrasted  with 
what  we  are  going  to  do.  The  great  task  is  to  set  the  goal 
for  what  the  church  will  undertake  in  the  light  of  the 
stupendous  enterprise  which  our  denomination  is  facing. 
It  should  be  some  one’s  duty  to  estimate  carefully  what 
would  be  the  church’s  share.  Our  faith  and  generous  de- 
termination in  the  face  of  the  great  world  task  should  be 
the  things  which  guide  us  rather  than  our  fears,  or  simply 
the  church’s  past  record.  We  will  need  to  create  great 
goals,  big  enough  to  stagger  us  and  challenge  every  per- 
son in  the  organization.  These  goals  should  be  assembled 
into  a sort  of  program  to  be  adopted  by  the  church  for 
either  one  or  five  years  ahead,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  Church  Program 

This  program  may  not  be  as  elaborate  in  one  place  as 
in  another,  but  surely  much  of  the  inefficiency  of  our 
church  life  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  we  have  drifted 
along  from  year  to  year,  living  from  hand  to  mouth,  doing 
the  next  thing  because  we  had  to,  rather  than  moving 

63 


consciously  toward  some  well-defined  purpose,  or  accom- 
plishing some  new  and  splendid  objective. 

These  goals  and  this  program  may  be  worked  out  in 
various  ways.  It  might  he  done  simply  in  the  committee. 
The  essential  thing  is  to  have  it  cover  the  needs  of  the 
church  and  at  the  same  time  secure  the  widest  possible 
interest  and  enthusiasm  in  its  achievement.  The  larger 
the  number  of  people  who  can  be  interested  in  its  formu- 
lation the  wider  the  sources  from  which  suggestions  will 
come.  It  may  be  far  better  to  work  it  out  publicly. 

One  church  has  adopted  the  following  method  of  pre- 
paring its  program  and  goals:  It  selected  a number  of  de- 
partments of  its  work  in  which  it  felt  a special  need  of 
getting  started  in  advance  steps  which  needed  to  be  taken, 
such  as  its  Sunday-school  work;  its  responsibility  to  its 
community;  the  need  for  wider  denominational  co-opera- 
tion; the  obligation  for  advance  stewardship  develop- 
ment; the  holding  and  developing  of  its  local  member- 
ship; the  increase  of  attendance  at  public  worship. 

The  pastor  was  asked  to  devote  a number  of  Wednesday 
evenings  in  the  prayer  meeting  to  the  discussion  of  vari- 
ous forward  steps  that,  in  the  conviction  of  the  people, 
should  be  taken  in  connection  with  these  various  depart- 
ments. The  subjects  were  widely  announced.  People 
were  asked  to  come,  giving  their  best  suggestions,  to  speak 
any  sense  of  failure  which  was  felt  in  the  present  achieve- 
ment; to  tell  the  best  thing  they  felt  some  one  else  was 
doing  along  that  line;  to  speak  the  finest  objective  they 
felt  the  church  should  hold  before  itself. 

Some  member  of  the  Promotional  Board  was  delegated 
to  make  note  of  each  of  the  suggestions.  The  announce- 
ment was  made  that  out  of  the  various  suggestions  offered 
the  Promotional  Board  would  formulate  a tentative  pro- 
gram to  be  later  laid  before  the  church  for  discussion  and 
adoption.  It  was  also  stated  that  while  not  all  the  sug- 
gestions might  be  included  in  the  program,  particularly 


64 


among  the  first  objectives,  yet  they  would  all  be  seriously 
considered.  In  this  way  a program  was  formulated  that 
developed  rather  naturally  out  of  the  ideas  and  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people.  It  had  a popular  flavor  and  had 
the  advantage  of  gaining  the  response  of  the  congregation 
more  than  a program  could  have  which  was  formulated 
entirely  by  a committee  and  brought  to  the  church. 

The  program  would  normally  include,  as  we  have  pre- 
viously indicated,  some  definite  attempt  to  achieve  a defi- 
nite goal  in  church  attendance,  in  Sunday  school,  and  pos- 
sibly in  church  membership.  It  would  include  some 
stewardship  goal,  such  as  a certain  proportion  of  people 
giving  and  definitely  committed  to  some  form  of  propor- 
tionate giving.  It  would  normally  include  some  settled 
goal  in  regard  to  Sunday  school,  not  simply  for  size  but  in 
quality  of  work  being  done  as  tested  by  some  of  the  various 
Sunday-school  standards. 

It  certainly  ought  also  to  include  some  very  definite 
objectives  for  the  relating  of  the  church  to  its  community 
task,  either  the  founding  of  new  Sunday  schools,  or  the 
developing  of  people  in  various  social  agencies  of  the  town 
or  country;  group  classes  for  study  of  various  problems 
and  training  of  people  to  meet  them. 

It  should  also  include  definite  goals  for  the  relating  of 
the  church  to  the  great  world  enterprise.  Recruiting  of 
life  among  the  young  people,  training  through  education, 
and  the  matching  of  their  sacrifices,  or  of  others  like 
them,  by  adequate  giving  on  the  part  of  those  who  cannot 
go  but  can  give.  Other  objectives  will  naturally  suggest 
themselves  in  local  situations. 

The  great  point  of  emphasis  here  is  that  every  church 
should  have  a definite  program,  with  great  objectives. 
Our  work  will  be  vastly  better  off,  more  constructive  and 
lasting.  It  will  not  only  be  more  efficient,  but  will  much 
more  largely  command  the  respect  and  the  backing  of 


65 


the  church  and  the  community  if  it  is  felt  that  we  are 
attempting  to  achieve  certain  definite  results. 


The  Spirit  to  Achieve 

When  the  program  is  outlined  it  should  be  presented 
to  the  church  for  adoption.  Such  preparation  should  be 
made  for  the  meeting  as  to  insure  making  it  one  of  the 
most  profoundly  impressive,  spiritually,  of  the  gatherings 
of  the  year.  It  should  be  a time  of  consecration  as  well 
as  of  determination. 

When  the  program  has  been  finally  adopted  the  method 
of  its  application  should  have  been  prepared  by  the 
Board  of  Promotion.  Some  form  of  parish  organization 
should  have  been  developed.  The  suggestion  is  made  by 
our  own  Board,  and  by  others  as  well,  that  a group  form 
that  will  make  some  one  person  in  a section  responsible 
for  certain  of  the  families  who  live  in  that  neighborhood, 
not  making  any  one  person  responsible  for  more  than  ten 
other  families,  would  be  a good  method.  It  is  preferable 
that  the  leader  of  the  ten  should  have  an  assistant.  For 
these  leaders  the  most  capable  and  responsible  persons  of 
the  congregation  should  be  selected.  Where  the  parish  is 
widely  scattered,  the  leaders  of  these  various  groups  must 
be  united  in  a larger  divisional  group  such  as  the  North- 
east, the  Southern  or  Western  division.  The  heads  of 
these  various  larger  divisions,  also  the  group  leaders, 
should  be  together  often  enough  at  the  beginning  to 
familiarize  them  thoroughly  with  the  parts  of  the  pro- 
gram which  they  are  expected  to  help  carry  out,  and, 
even  more  than  this,  to  enable  them  to  catch  the  spirit  in 
which  it  is  to  be  done;  to  make  them  feel  it  is  their  task 
for  the  Master.  It  hardly  seems  necessary  to  warn  our- 
selves against  dependence  upon  organization  at  this  stage 
of  our  development.  We  have  come  to  realize  that  we 
only  need  to  adopt  the  right  kind  of  organization  (enough 


66 


of  it)  to  make  it  the  tool  of  the  great  spiritual  purpose 
that  is  back  of  it. 

In  many  a church  with  a limited  membership  it  is  quite 
probable  that  it  may  seem  wiser  to  make  the  heads  of 
these  various  groups,  together  with  the  pastor,  the  Pro- 
motional Committee.  In  churches  with  larger  member- 
ship it  would  seem  better  to  divide  the  work  and  have 
the  Promotional  Committee  work  at  the  center,  with  the 
responsibility  of  the  individual  families  falling  upon  others. 
The  group  unit  plan  has  proved  of  remarkable  power  as 
tested  in  different  denominations  and  in  different  circum- 
stances. 

Conclusion 

The  suggestions  here  made,  it  is  recognized,  are  not 
applicable  to  every  specific  situation,  but  it  is  hoped  that 
they  may  be  sufficiently  suggestive  in  their  broad  outlines 
so  that  no  church,  wherever  located  in  the  confines  of  the 
Northern  Baptist  Convention,  will  feel  that  it  can  afford 
to  be  without  some  definite  knowledge  about  its  present 
situation  or  without  a program  which  will  mark  an  heroic 
attempt  to  do  its  part  in  the  big  advance  that  the  denomi- 
nation is  going  to  make. 

If  we  were  different  companies  in  an  army  that  had 
been  ordered  to  advance  into  a great  fight,  where  great 
issues  were  at  stake,  and  the  future  of  the  nation  depended 
upon  whole-hearted,  unanimous  response  to  the  orders  of 
the  commander,  we  should  always  feel  chagrined  beyond 
measure  if  our  company  did  not  do  its  part.  We  cannot 
afford  to  allow  this  to  be  the  case  with  our  church. 

No  matter  how  much  we  can  say  “our  situation  is  dif- 
ferent,” “our  church  has  reached  its  limit,”  “our  church 
is  too  small,  or  too  poorly  located,  or  too  poor,  or  too  hide- 
bound to  be  part  of  this  movement,”  let  each  pastor  and 
each  man  of  vision  in  the  congregation  closet  himself  with 
the  Christ  who  dared  to  look  across  the  ages,  when  He 
stood  alone  and  even  His  friends  and  family  failed  to  sup- 


67 


port  Him,  and  still  believed  in  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom 
when  God’s  will  should  be  done  on  earth  as  it  was  in 
Heaven.  Let  us  saturate  ourselves  with  His  belief  until 
we  know  that  we  can  solve  the  problem  of  our  local  situa- 
tion. Let  us  closet  ourselves  with  Paul  till  we  come  to 
know,  as  he  knew,  that  we  are  working  together  with  God, 
and  that  with  Christ  all  things  are  possible. 

This  is  the  testing  time  of  our  history.  When  the  years 
go  by  and  we  look  back  at  it,  no  matter  how  many  excuses 
we  can  offer  to  ourselves  why  our  church  did  not  do  its 
part,  the  one  great  outstanding  thing  that  will  stare  us  in 
the  face,  if  we  fail,  will  be  that  we  were  not  in  the  great 
attempt.  Surely,  God  is  saying  to  us,  as  He  said  to  the 
great  leader  of  old:  “Speak  to  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  Go  Forward!” 


68 


THE  ENLISTMENT  OF  LIFE 


BY  P.  H.  J.  LF.RRIGO 


What  Roosevelt  said  about  the  Christian  Ministry 

“ I consider  the  Christian  Ministry  the  highest  calling 
in  the  world,  most  intimately  related  to  the  most  exalted 
life  and  service  here  and  destiny  beyond,  and  I consider 
it  my  greatest  joy  and  glory  that,  occupying  a most  exalted 
position  in  the  nation,  I am  enabled,  simply  and  sincerely, 
to  preach  the  practical  moralities  of  the  Bible  to  my  fellow- 
countrymen  and  to  hold  up  Christ  as  the  hope  and  Saviour 
of  the  World.”  These  words  were  uttered  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt  in  talking  with  Dr.  Iglehart  regarding  the  lat- 
ter’s son  who  was  sailing  for  missionary  service  in  Japan. 
They  are  indicative  of  the  estimate  which  “ The  Great 
American”  placed  upon  the  Christian  ministry  as  a life 
calling.  New  emphasis  is  laid  not  only  upon  the  ministry 
but  upon  the  need  for  men  and  women  in  every  phase  of 
Christian  activity  by  the  great  advance  programs  which 
are  now  being  undertaken  by  the  evangelical  churches. 


The  Significance  of  the  Baptist  World  Program 

The  compelling  significance  of  the  Baptist  World  Pro- 
gram of  Advance  is  not  its  ambitious  financial  goal  so 
much  as  its  insistent  call  upon  the  personal  powers  of 
Christian  men  and  women.  The  great  forward  movements 
of  the  day  indicate  the  church’s  determination  to  con- 
serve the  moral  and  spiritual  gains  of  the  world  war,  to 
combat  the  retrograde  tendency  toward  license  and  self- 
ish indulgence  which  accompanies  the  letting  down  of  the 


69 


war  tension,  to  make  the  period  of  world  reconstruction  a 
great  era  of  triumphant  progress  in  world  evangelization, 
and  to  provide  the  spiritual  dynamic  which  shall  render 
effective  the  provisions  of  the  League  of  Nations. 

Coincident  with  the  close  of  the  war,  perhaps  as  an  out- 
growth from  it,  a quickened  understanding  of  the  need  of 
the  world  and  the  opportunity  of  the  hour  has  come  to 
the  church,  and  has  given  rise  to  a new  determination  to 
put  forth  efforts  commensurate  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
task.  That  the  church  has  the  powers  to  meet  the  need 
is  unquestioned,  but  they  have  hitherto  lain  dormant  and 
unused.  To  awaken  these  latent  powers  and  organize 
them  for  service  is  the  immediate  need. 


Not  a Financial  but  a Spiritual  Task 

The  great  program  calls  not  only  for  large  sums  of 
money,  but  also  for  the  consecration  of  life.  In  its  essence 
it  is  a spiritual  and  not  a financial  task.  Already  there 
are  indications  that  the  mature  men  and  women  of  the 
denomination  are  glimpsing  the  glory  of  the  great  work 
and  are  preparing  to  supply  the  means  to  make  it  possi- 
ble. Coincidently  there  must  be  a great  outpouring  of 
life  resources  upon  the  part  of  our  young  people,  without 
which  the  consecration  of  wealth  would  be  ineffective. 

The  war  has  added  a new  dignity  to  the  Christian  calling. 
Every  battle  crisis  stressed  the  spiritual  nature  of  the 
basic  principles  of  the  conflict,  and  viorale  came  to  be 
recognized  as  the  outstanding  factor  in  success  or  failure. 
The  man  who  could  bring  spiritual  power  and  high  cour- 
age was  indispensable.  In  this  hour  following  the  war, 
when  the  conflict  is  transferred  to  social  and  economic 
spheres,  when  broken  nations  need  reconstruction  and 
awakening  people  need  guidance  and  support,  the  need  for 
men  and  women  with  a vivid  Christian  experience  and  a 
vigorous  Christian  message  is  paramount. 

70 


The  Christian  Ministry  as  a Constructive  Force 

The  message  of  the  Christian  minister  is  of  the  highest 
possible  constructive  value.  It  is  not  perhaps  generally 
recognized  that  the  movement  for  the  suppression  of  the 
liquor  traffic,  now  reaching  its  culmination,  had  its  origin 
in  a minister’s  message.  Mr.  Hugh  S.  Fullerton  recounts 
the  story  of  the  beginnings  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  and  speaks 
of  the  picturesque  crusade  of  the  women  of  Hillsboro, 
Ohio,  who  literally  marched  and  prayed  liquor  out  of  their 
town  and  initiated  the  movement  which  has  well-nigh 
driven  it  from  their  country.  The  man  under  whose 
ministry  the  women  received  inspiration  for  their  great 
work  was  Dr.  William  McSurely.  In  a sermon  preached 
in  June,  1874,  to  the  women  of  the  crusade,  he  says: 
“ This  movement  must  more  and  more  become  political. 
The  contest  finally  will  be  between  American  ideals  of 
liberty  and  right  and  the  German  infidel  idea  of  uncon- 
trolled license,  not  only  in  regard  to  temperance  but  to 
all  the  principles  of  truth  for  which  our  Puritan  ancestry 
braved  the  terrors  of  the  New  England  wilderness  and 
which  they  sealed  and  established  with  their  blood.”  In 
commenting  upon  the  development  of  the  movement,  Mr. 
Fullerton  adds:  “ The  temperance  workers  in  Hillsboro, 
as  in  the  whole  country,  discovered  finally  that  they  could 
not  make  the  country  dry  by  prayer  and  persuasion,  and 
in  1892  they  went  into  politics,  united  behind  the  Anti- 
Saloon  League,  and  won.”  It  should  be  noted  that  here, 
as  in  many  another  case,  the  spiritual  impulse  came  from 
the  message  of  the  man  of  God.  He  deals  with  the  springs 
of  action  in  bringing  men  face  to  face  with  the  ideals  of 
right,  and  sets  in  motion  great  forces  by  putting  men  in 
contact  with  the  source  of  power  to  do  the  right. 


71 


Getting  Out  of  the  Commonplace 

There  is  vital  need  of  men  who  have  this  power  of 
bringing  others  face  to  face  with  the  real  issues  of  life. 
The  multitude  of  interests  which  touch  the  lives  of  men 
to-day  is  bewildering.  It  beclouds  the  mind  and  makes 
clear  thinking  impossible.  So,  for  lack  of  power  to  con- 
centrate upon  the  worthy,  men  fall  under  the  spell  of 
the  unworthy  and  vicious,  and  the  greatness  which  might 
have  been  theirs  is  lost. 

The  great  mass  of  men  and  women  permit  themselves 
to  drift  into  the  commonplace.  The  line  of  least  resist- 
ance in  life  leads  to  crystallized  inferiority.  James  Lane 
Allen  says  of  one  of  his  characters  that  her  ideas  were 
like  three  or  four  marbles  on  a perfectly  planed  floor; 
they  roll  equally  well  in  any  direction  in  which  you  push 
them.  Professor  James  says  that  the  average  man  is  an 
old  fogy  at  twenty-five.  But  it  is  our  own  fault  if  our 
spiritual  faculties  thus  atrophy.  The  very  difficulties  of 
life  will  develop  power  in  us  in  direct  proportion  as  we 
strenuously  combat  them.  It  is  a pusillanimous  soul  that 
lies  down  before  the  unpropitious. 

What  God  can  Do  with  the  Ordinary  Man 

A friend  of  mine  who  has  fought  a winning  battle  could 
not  well  have  started  with  greater  handicaps.  Personal, 
social  and  financial  difficulties  beset  him,  but  he  worked 
his  way  through  college  and  seminary  in  spite  of  them.  In 
process  of  time  he  found  himself  pastor  of  the  leading 
church  in  a thriving  rural  town.  It  was  here  the  man’s 
fighting  spirit  developed.  His  lower  jaw  took  charge  of 
things.  He  conceived  that  beside  preaching  a vigorous 
gospel  his  commission  gave  him  authority  to  attack  organ- 
ized vice  wherever  he  found  it,  much  to  the  moral  benefit 
of  the  town.  About  this  time  the  railroad  undertook  to 
inaugurate  winter  sports  and  to  bring  to  town  week-end 

72 


excursions  from  the  city.  Realizing  what  this  would 
mean  in  the  way  of  debauch,  license  and  Sabbath  break- 
ing, he  did  not  hesitate  to  go  to  the  owner  of  the  ground 
to  be  leased,  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  rail- 
road had  already  issued  its  advertising,  he  was  able  to 
bring  such  pressure  to  bear  as  to  cause  the  abandonment 
of  the  plan.  A fighting  man  clear  through,  yet  there 
developed  in  his  character  a sweetness  and  power  which 
were  felt  far  beyond  the  confines  of  the  town  itself.  Sev- 
eral neighboring  school  houses  and  churches  came  under 
his  ministry,  and  on  Sunday  a Gospel  team  of  his  young 
men  conducted  services  in  an  adjacent  lumber  camp. 
Victrola  concerts,  entertainments  and  literature  were 
added  to  the  sum  of  helpful  ministrations  to  the  lumber- 
men, and  the  cook  of  the  camp  testified  that  it  was  the 
first  time  in  twenty  vears  that  he  had  seen  a sober  Christ- 
mas in  the  camp. 

The  Need  for  Christian  Leaders 

Thousands  of  similar  towns  need  this  type  of  Christian 
leadership  to-day,  and  in  the  regular  ministry,  as  well  as 
in  every  branch  of  home  mission  work,  there  is  a demand 
for  men  who  will  give  themselves  with  the  same  determina- 
tion and  unselfishness  to  the  task.  There  are  the  en- 
trenched powers  of  organized  vice  to  attack.  There  are 
great  groups  of  the  untutored  and  misled  from  overseas  to 
be  Americanized  on  the  broad  pattern  of  a vigorous  Chris- 
tianity. There  are  great  areas  of  the  West  responding 
rapidly  to  the  impulse  of  modern  social  and  industrial 
development.  Populations  flood  them  almost  overnight; 
industries  spring  into  being.  With  the  outlining  of  social 
and  political  life  under  the  powerful  stimulus  of  modern 
thought,  it  is  imperative  that  Christianity  should  not  be 
an  afterthought,  but  wrought  into  the  ground  plans  of 
the  new  order. 


73 


A World-wide  Framework  of  Christian  Service 

And  in  addition  to  the  almost  unlimited  calls  for  Chris- 
tian effort  in  this  our  own  land  is  the  clarion  voice  from 
beyond  the  sea.  More  than  a hundred  years  of  the  mod- 
ern missionary  enterprise  have  passed.  The  century  has 
been  characterized  by  humble,  Christlike  service  in 
church,  school  and  hospital  on  the  far  fields.  At  its  close 
we  find  ourselves  with  a great  framework  of  Christian 
construction  erected  throughout  the  world.  The  task  is 
not  completed,  but  its  outlines  have  been  drawn  and  we 
are  now  able  to  comprehend  its  extent.  The  work  of  the 
past  has  sketched  in  bold  outline  the  task  of  the  future, 
and  it  seems  apparent  that  we  are  now  entering  upon  a 
period  when  the  filling  in  of  the  picture  may  proceed  with 
relative  rapidity.  But  this  will  require  men  and  women 
in  large  numbers,  — pastors,  evangelists,  teachers,  physi- 
cians, nurses,  agriculturists,  industrialists,  builders  and, 
indeed,  workers  of  well-nigh  every  type  and  qualification. 

The  Average  Man  and  the  International  Task 

This  is  the  age  of  internationalism,  but  comparatively 
few  are  ever  called  to  secular  world  tasks.  Religion  is 
almost  the  only  thing  which  will  give  the  average  man 
world-embracing  interests  and  power  to  influence  distant 
peoples  for  good.  The  world  sphere  which  is  natural  to 
youth’s  idealism  is  that  prompted  by  the  missionary  enter- 
prise. It  is  through  obedience  to  the  command  of  Him 
who  said  “Go  ye  into  all  the  world,”  that  we  are  able  to 
break  the  ties  which  bind  us  to  tasks  of  lesser  significance 
and  enter  the  sphere  of  world  activity. 

Key  Men  in  Great  Centers 

There  is  an  expansion  of  power  which  comes  with  obe- 
dience to  the  Great  Commission.  We  determine  the 
boundaries  of  our  own  souls;  whether  we  shall  live  in  a 


74 


large  or  a small  world  lies  within  our  own  volition,  and 
the  choice  we  make  will  determine  the  future  of  our  own 
life.  Many  a young  man  entering  upon  a life  of  service 
on  the  broader  world  fields  has  discovered  his  life  taking 
on  unexpected  significance.  He  becomes,  little  as  he 
might  have  anticipated  it,  the  hub  of  a great  wheel  of 
influence. 

One  such  is  the  link  between  America  and  a great  Jap- 
anese university  having  twelve  thousand  students. 
Another  is  the  center  of  a Christian  social  settlement  in 
Shanghai,  with  an  annual  budget  of  $12,000  underwritten 
entirely  by  the  Chinese.  Another  is  the  confidant  and 
counsellor  of  more  than  a thousand  university  students  in 
India.  Still  another  is  affecting  the  economic  conditions 
of  an  entire  province  by  means  of  a great  industrial  work. 
One  of  our  young  women  missionaries  is  mothering  a brood 
of  a hundred  boys  and  girls,  the  possibilities  of  whose 
lives  are  beyond  reckoning  in  usefulness  to  their  own  people. 
One  might  multiply  instances  indefinitely.  Our  new  pro- 
gram calls  for  not  less  than  636  young  people  to  occupy 
similar  points  of  strategic  importance  abroad.  The  sur- 
vey puts  the  figure  at  228  families  and  180  single  young 
women. 

The  Personal  Power  of  a Great  Life 

The  broad  usefulness  of  a life  given  to  world  service  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  Dr.  Nichols,  one  of 
our  veteran  missionaries  to  Burma.  His  life  has  branched 
and  fructified  on  every  side.  His  work  among  the  Sgaw 
Karens  reads  like  a romance.  The  British  commissioner 
came  one  day  to  examine  Dr.  Nichols’  schools.  Observing 
that  the  boys  were  doing  well  in  their  studies,  he  asked 
why  they  were  not  taught  a trade.  The  response  was  that 
equipment  was  lacking.  The  commissioner  was  so  well 
impressed  with  the  work  that  he  undertook  to  put  twelve 
boys  in  the  government  railway  shops  to  learn  the  machin- 

75 


ist’s  trade.  Here  the  boys  spent  five  years,  and  gained  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  industry.  During  all  this 
time  they  retained  their  membership  in  the  church,  and 
although  the  superintendent  of  the  shops  tried  to  make 
them  work  on  Sunday,  the  commissioner  upheld  them 
in  their  stand  against  it. 

The  next  step  in  the  development  of  Dr.  Nichols’  in- 
dustrial work  was  the  purchase  of  a sawmill.  It  stood  on 
certain  “made”  land  in  Bassein,  — land  which  had  been 
constructed  by  the  ballast  taken  from  the  holds  of  steam- 
ships from  the  river  Thames  in  England.  One  hundred 
and  forty  village  churches  clubbed  together  to  buy  the 
sawmill.  Mr.  O’Brien,  an  Irish  pilot,  sympathizing  with 
the  work,  advanced  the  needed  cash  at  the  auction  sale. 
The  churches  undertook  a campaign  to  raise  the  money, 
asking  each  member  to  pay  ten  rupees,  and  when  the  mill 
was  purchased,  presented  it  to  the  school. 

The  next  need  was  for  a steamboat  to  enable  them  to 
take  advantage  of  the  ramifying  rivers  which  intersected 
the  5,000  square  miles  of  adjacent  territory.  By  this  time 
the  apprentices  had  graduated  from  the  government 
shops,  and  one  of  them  undertook  to  build  the  steam 
launch,  or,  rather,  the  task  was  thrust  upon  him,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  foreman  having  charge  of  the  work 
struck  for  higher  pay.  The  young  man,  however,  devel- 
oped higher  powers  than  the  former  incumbent,  and  pro- 
duced a steam  launch  admirably  suited  to  the  needs  of  the 
work. 

The  launch  proved  so  useful  that  Dr.  Nichols  was  soon 
asked  by  the  natives  whether  he  would  sell  it.  This  he 
did,  building  another  for  the  mission.  Thus  an  industry 
developed.  They  have  now  built  and  sold  thirty  launches, 
making  a profit  of  $10,000.  The  launch  has  become  an 
indispensable  aid  to  the  work  in  this  section  of  Burma. 
Pastors,  members  of  the  church,  the  evangelistic  band  and 
the  school’s  brass  band  embark  in  the  boat  and  gooff  for 


76 


a tour.  Approaching  a village  upon  the  river  bank,  the 
boat  whistles  and  the  pastor  at  this  point  packs  his  bag 
and  is  ready  as  soon  as  the  boat  reaches  the  wharf  to  join 
the  party  on  a visit  to  all  the  neighboring  churches.  At 
every  stopping  place  a remarkable  service  is  held.  Pastors, 
laymen  and  students  contribute  their  testimonies.  Man 
after  man  takes  up  his  Bible  and  gives  his  message,  and 
thus,  far  into  the  interior,  the  work  extends.  But  it 
should  be  remembered  that,  under  God,  it  is  the  life  of  the 
key  man,  Dr.  Nichols,  which  is  multiplying  itself  in  this 
far-reaching  influence  through  school,  industry,  evangel- 
istic effort  and  village  preaching.  The  possibilities  of 
such  multiform  sendee  are  illimitable  on  every  mission 
field. 

Roosevelt  on  Missionary  Service 

Theodore  Roosevelt  had  this  further  word  to  say  in 
talking  with  Dr.  Iglehart  concerning  the  call  to  mis- 
sionary sendee:  “As  high  an  estimate  as  I have  of  the 
ministry,  I consider  that  the  climax  of  that  calling  is  to 
go  out  in  missionary  sendee,  as  your  son  is  doing.  It 
takes  mighty  good  stuff  to  be  a missionary  of  the  right 
type,  the  best  stuff  there  is  in  the  world.  It  takes  a good 
deal  of  courage  to  break  the  shell  and  go  12,000  miles 
away  to  risk  an  unfriendly  climate,  to  master  a foreign 
language,  to  adopt  strange  customs,  to  turn  aside  from 
earthly  fame  and  emolument,  and,  most  of  all,  to  say 
good  by  to  home  and  the  faces  of  the  loved  ones,  virtually 
forever.” 

A Challenge*  to  Youth 

The  call,  both  for  service  at  home  and  on  the  farther 
fields,  is  a challenge  to  youth.  Youth  owes  to  middle  age 
the  obligation  of  keeping  before  it  the  vision  of  the  ideal. 
A great  offering  of  youth  and  life  to  meet  the  world’s 
need  will  stir  the  more  mature  to  action  as  nothing  else 
in  the  world.  The  success  of  our  great  forward  movement 


77 


is  dependent  upon  the  response  which  is  met  among  the 
young  people.  The  climactic  hour  of  our  great  national 
conventions  is  always  when  the  young  people  who  are 
giving  themselves  to  world  service  speak  out  of  their 
hearts  the  burning  desire  which  is  leading  them  to  farther 
fields.  There  is  a high  courage  about  consecrated  youth 
which  makes  the  pulses  beat  more  quickly.  They  are 
bound  upon  the  quest  for  the  far  horizon  of  the  soul’s 
desire.  And  let  no  one  suspect  that  such  ambition  is  des- 
tined to  disappointment  and  disillusionment.  Rather, 
youth  chooses  in  the  high  moment  of  clear  vision  the  better 
part,  and  the  decision  then  made  determines  the  trend  of 
life,  and  the  coming  days  bring  ever  fuller  blessing  and 
greater  enrichment  of  soul. 

Enlisting  Life 

Recognizing  the  magnitude  of  the  world  task  before  us 
and  the  imperative  need  for  greatly  increased  numbers  of 
recruits  for  the  ministry  and  missionary  service  at  home 
and  abroad,  it  becomes  the  obligation  of  every  Christian 
leader  to  give  careful  thought  and  earnest  effort  to  the 
matter  of  leading  our  young  people  to  face  the  great  need 
and  to  enlist  for  the  battle. 

How  to  Go  About  It 

There  must  be  a carefully  thought-out  plan.  Churches 
produce  missionaries  when  the  conditions  are  right.  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  young  people  will  offer  themselves 
to  the  service  of  God  unless  they  are  enlightened  regard- 
ing world  needs  and  given  specific  training  to  that  end. 
The  program  should  include  enlightenment,  instruction, 
inspiration  and  prayer.  There  should  be  a survey  of  the 
church’s  resources,  counsel  regarding  preparation,  help  in 
financial  difficulty,  and  the  creation  of  a warm  spiritual 
atmosphere  which  will  tend  to  crystallize  purpose  and 
encourage  perseverance. 


78 


A Survey  of  the  Church  Life 

One  of  the  first  steps  is  to  carry  out  a careful  survey  of 
the  young  life  of  the  church.  Just  as  we  are  giving  a close 
scrutiny  to  the  financial  resources  within  the  power  of  the 
membership  of  the  church,  with  a view  to  a challenging 
appeal  to  God’s  people  to  bring  adequate  support  to  the 
great  forward  movement,  so  there  must  be  a similar 
stock  taking  of  our  resources  in  young  life.  This  can- 
not be  done  with  a brass  band.  It  will  require  the  most 
painstaking  judgment  upon  the  part  of  church  leaders. 
The  pastor’s  cabinet,  composed  of  those  responsible  for  the 
various  departments  of  the  church  life,  should  take  the 
lead.  If  the  church  is  too  large  for  such  a group  to  go 
over  its  entire  constituency  themselves,  they  should  com- 
mit it  in  sections  to  carefully  chosen  committees  who  will 
give  detailed  study  to  the  section  assigned  them  and  de- 
cide which  among  the  boys  and  girls  show  such  promise 
as  to  render  it  wise  to  encourage  them  to  prepare  for 
definite  Christian  service. 

How  to  Bring  about  Decisions 

Such  a careful  choice  having  been  made,  counsel  should 
be  had  with  their  parents  and  Sunday-school  teachers, 
but  it  cannot  be  taken  for  granted  that  these  boys  and 
girls  will  always  be  ready  to  follow  the  lead  of  their  elders 
in  this  respect.  For  the  most  part  it  is  wise  to  refrain 
from  using  any  persuasion  to  induce  them  to  do  so,  nor 
is  it  generally  desirable  to  conduct  meetings  in  such  a way 
as  to  lead  to  hasty  decisions  under  the  stimulus  of  emo- 
tion. It  is  better  to  seek  to  put  before  the  young  people 
at  proper  intervals  the  need  for  Christian  service  and  the 
opportunity  of  the  ministry  and  mission  fields  at  home 
and  abroad  without  eliciting  either  verbal  or  written 
pledges.  These  may  be  obtained  later  when  the  young 
people  have  had  an  opportunity  to  think  the  matter 

79 


through.  Enlistment  cards  may  well  be  left  in  their 
hands,  if  used  at  all,  to  be  signed  alone  in  the  presence  of 
the  Master. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  age  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  is  the  time  when  most  men  and  women  decide 
for  Christian  service,  and  if  a decision  is  reached  during 
these  years  under  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  and  free  from 
the  over-urging  of  friends,  it  is  likely  to  give  permanent 
direction  to  the  life,  and  we  need  have  no  fear  that  it  will 
be  subsequently  regretted.  This  whole  matter  of  survey 
and  presentation  of  life  work  must  be  carried  out  in  the 
atmosphere  of  prayer.  We  are  dealing  here  with  a phase 
of  Christian  work  of  the  utmost  moment,  and  constant 
guidance  from  above  must  be  sought. 

Preparation  for  Christian  Service 

It  is  not  enough,  however,  to  lead  our  young  people  to 
a decision  for  Christian  service.  They  must  be  given 
direction  and  help  in  preparing  for  such  service;  and 
here  the  utmost  discretion  and  the  broadest  vision  are 
needed.  We  are  living  in  days  when  the  demands  upon 
Christian  workers,  especially  pastors,  are  greater  than 
ever  before.  Popular  education  has  raised  the  scale  of 
ordinary  intelligence  far  above  that  of  other  days.  In 
every  sphere  of  life  the  highly  trained  man  is  in  demand. 
The  Christian  minister  or  missionary  must  needs  be  not 
merely  a leader,  but  a leader  of  leaders.  To  a profound 
Christian  experience  should  be  added  the  fullest  possible 
intellectual  preparation.  High  school  or  academy  should 
be  followed  by  a full  college  course  as  a preparation  for 
the  more  technical  training  suited  to  the  particular  branch 
of  work  the  individual  has  chosen  to  enter.  In  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry,  a theological  course  will  follow  col- 
lege. Medical  missionary  work  requires  four  years  in  the 
professional  school,  which  should  be  a class  A institution, 
and  one  or  two  years  in  a hospital.  Teachers,  whether 


80 


men  or  women,  should  supplement  their  college  training 
with  special  work  in  a graduate  school  and  with  one  or 
more  years  of  practical  experience.  Nurses,  kindergart- 
ners  and  others  in  special  lines  of  work  should  take  the 
regular  courses  in  their  own  specialty  and  a year  or  more 
in  one  or  the  other  of  the  well-equipped  denominational 
training  schools.  The  impatience  of  youth  to  be  at  the 
life  task  needs  sometimes  to  be  reckoned  with,  but  we  can 
do  our  young  people  no  greater  service  than  to  show  them 
the  importance  of  thorough  equipment  for  the  great  work 
which  lies  before  them. 

Financial  Difficulties 

In  many  cases  we  shall  discover  that  financial  diffi- 
culties of  a serious  nature  impede  the  securing  of  the 
necessary  education.  The  church  should  be  prepared  to 
give  sympathetic  aid  in  such  cases.  Not  infrequently 
individual  members  of  the  church  are  prepared  to  assume 
part  of  the  burden.  I know  of  several  cases  where  men 
of  moderate  means  are  making  it  a part  of  their  own 
Christian  service  to  help  young  people  contemplating 
Christian  work  to  secure  their  education. 

Summer  Conferences 

Another  important  step  in  the  enlistment  of  life  is  to 
put  the  young  people  in  touch  with  the  representatives 
of  the  work  they  contemplate  entering.  Such  contact 
will  have  great  value  in  helping  to  strengthen  their  pur- 
pose and  direct  their  preparation.  The  value  of  summer 
conferences  and  young  peoples’  conventions  is  very  great. 
The  missionary  committee  of  the  church  should  give 
careful  study  to  the  various  gatherings  of  this  nature 
held  each  year  in  their  vicinity,  and  should  plan  delega- 
tions to  those  which  best  meet  the  need.  If  necessary 
the  committee  can  lead  in  a plan  to  raise  the  expenses 

81 


of  such  delegations.  It  is  the  right  of  our  young  people 
to  have  the  world  outlook  presented  to  them,  and  the 
influence  of  the  summer  conference  is  frequently  decisive 
in  determining  their  future  course. 

Do  not  Abandon  your  Missionaries 

Above  all,  every  effort  should  be  made  to  establish 
and  strengthen  the  ties  between  the  home  church  and 
world  fields.  Do  not  abandon  your  missionaries  when 
they  have  gone  from  you  to  enter  their  life  work.  Hang 
enlarged  photographs  of  them  upon  the  walls  of  the 
church  in  several  places.  Purchase  a great  world  map, 
mark  their  stations,  whether  in  this  country  or  abroad, 
and  use  colored  ribbons  to  indicate  the  tie  between  their 
fields  and  the  home  church.  Have  a service  flag  made 
and  let  stars  indicate  the  young  people  of  your  church 
who  are  serving  at  home  and  abroad.  Refer  to  them 
often  in  pulpit  and  in  prayer  meeting  and  let  your  prayer 
both  public  and  private  gather  about  them  and  their 
activities.  Be  sure  to  secure  frequent  news  from  the 
fields  occupied  by  your  own  young  people,  and  see  that 
letters,  pictures  and  magazines  bearing  upon  their  work 
are  circulated  freely  among  the  Sunday-school  classes. 
Make  prayer  definite.  Let  there  be  a program  of  prayer 
which  leaves  none  of  them  out,  and  let  every  new  item 
received  from  the  field  be  a subject  of  praise  or  petition. 
All  this  will  take  care,  effort  and  expense,  but  in  no  other 
way  can  that  atmosphere  be  created  in  which  young 
people  will  see  the  glory  of  the  great  work  and  give  them- 
selves to  it. 

General  Koch’s  Commandments 

In  these  post-war  days  it  is  not  unnatural  to  transfer 
our  military  phraseology  to  the  Christian  warfare.  For 
it  is  a bitter  battle  we  are  waging,  and  those  who  would 


82 


enlist  have  need  of  “the  whole  armor  of  Cod”  as  well  as 
the  determined  courage  which  the  presence  of  the  Cap- 
tain inspires.  There  is  wisdom  for  the  Christian  warrior 
in  the  last  three  of  the  ten  commandments  which  General 
Foch  prepared  for  his  soldiers:  — 

Do  your  best  to  keep  your  head  clear  and  cool,  your  body  clean  and 
comfortable,  and  your  feet  in  good  condition,  for  you  think  with  your 
head,  fight  with  your  body,  and  march  with  your  feet. 

Be  of  good  cheer  and  high  courage;  shirk  neither  work  nor  danger; 
suffer  in  silence  and  cheer  the  comrades  at  your  side  with  a smile. 

Dread  defeat,  but  not  wounds;  fear  dishonor,  but  not  death;  and 
whatever  the  task,  remember  the  motto  of  the  division:  “It  shall  be 
done.” 


83 


“PRAYER,  THE -DYNAMIC  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD 
MOVEMENT  ” 


BY  CHARLES  W.  GILKEY,  HYDE  PARK  BAPTIST  CHURCH, 
CHICAGO 


The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few;  Pray.  . . . 
Matt,  ix:  37,  38. 

It  is  the  last  conclusion  that  we  American  Christians 
would  ever  have  drawn  from  such  a situation.  Here 
were  great  fields  white  to  the  harvest  and  waiting  for 
reapers:  a very  big  job  needing  to  be  done  at  once.  To 
us  energetic  and  practical  moderns  the  thing  to  do  under 
such  circumstances  looks  so  obvious  that  we  should  think 
of  only  one  possible  conclusion  as  following  from  Jesus’ 
description  of  the  present  crisis,  and  we  should  probably 
state  it  in  familiar  American  phrase:  “The  harvest  truly 
is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few,”  — get  busy. 

Any  one  who  has  been  attending  recent  religious  con- 
ventions, or  who  knows  the  lingo  and  technique  of  present- 
day  religious  movements,  will  have  no  difficulty  in  giving 
to  this  “American  revised”  text  some  very  definite  and 
up-to-date  applications.  “The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous, 
but  the  labourers  are  few,”  — organize.  “Start  a cam- 
paign; raise  money;  secure  strong  men  for  promotion 
secretaries;  open  an  office;  get  adequate  publicity;  survey 
your  harvest  field;  enlist  and  train  your  workers;  plan 
your  work  to  avoid  duplication  and  secure  maximum 
efficiency;  work  your  plan.”  That  is  the  way  we  have 
of  handling  a white  harvest  field.  And  if  for  any  reason 
these  large  scale  methods  of  reaping  seem  not  to  apply, 
we  have  another  conclusion  ready.  “The  harvest  truly 

84. 


is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few,” — at  the  very 
least  hold  a mass  meeting  to  arouse  public  sentiment, 
and  form  a committee  to  consider  and  report  on  a harvest 
program. 

These  are  no  doubt  perfectly  proper  and  promisingly 
efficient  ways  of  meeting  the  problem  of  a ripe  harvest 
field  where  laborers  are  few,  but  we  cannot  miss  the  fact 
that  they  are  not  Jesus’  way.  He  evidently  approached 
the  task  of  reaping  a spiritual  harvest  from  a different 
side  and  applied  to  it  a different  logic.  And  we  who 
call  ourselves  after  His  name  Christians,  and  believe  that 
He  knew  even  more  about  spiritual  sowing  and  reaping 
than  we  do,  will  surely  do  well  to  examine  His  approach 
and  see  if  it  does  not  lead  closer  to  the  heart  of  the  matter; 
to  study  His  logic  and  see  if  it  is  not  profounder  than  ours. 
Our  methods  are  doubtless  all  right  when  it  is  western 
wheat  fields  that  are  to  be  reaped,  or  even  when  it  is  a 
political  or  civic  campaign  that  is  to  be  organized.  But 
Jesus  is  looking  into  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  and 
seeking  there  a spiritual  harvest  for  the  Kingdom  of  God; 
and  His  directions  for  such  an  undertaking  are  very  ex- 
plicit: “The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers 
are  few;  Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that 
he  will  send  forth  labourers  into  his  harvest.” 

The  first  thing  to  be  noticed  about  these  directions  is 
that  plainly  Jesus  was  no  idle  dreamer  who  thought  that 
harvests  whether  agricultural  or  spiritual  could  be  gath- 
ered by  anything  else  but  hard  work.  The  sharp  contrast 
between  our  instinctive  conclusion  face  to  face  with  a 
plenteous  harvest  that  the  immediate  thing  to  do  is  to  get 
to  work  and  His  that  the  urgent  need  is  prayer,  does  not 
come  from  any  visionary  idea  on  His  part  that  “mere 
praying,”  as  we  sometimes  shallowly  call  it,  will  by  some 
magic  or  miracle  avail  to  get  this  reaping  done.  He  knows 
just  as  well  as  we  practical  Americans  that  what  such  a 
situation  calls  for  is  hard  work  and  plenty  of  it;  and  the 

85 


last  part  of  His  directions,  with  its  emphasis  upon  laborers 
going  forth  to  toil  in  the  harvest  field,  is  as  definite  and 
practical  as  any  modern  organizer  could  wish.  But  He 
knows  also  what  we  busy  folk  so  often  forget,  that  in  all 
spiritual  service  some  other  things  are  just  as  important  as 
numbers  and  activity,  if  not  more  so;  that  work  to  be 
effective  must  be  of  a certain  kind  and  done  from  a certain 
motive.  He  plainly  believes  that  prayer  has  everything 
to  do  with  getting  that  kind  of  work  done;  and  so  He  puts 
behind  the  work  that  has  to  be  done  in  the  harvest  field 
the  prayer  that  alone  can  make  it  adequate  and  effective: 
“Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will 
send  forth  labourers  into  his  harvest.” 

The  reasons  why  Jesus  believes  that  prayer  is  an  essen- 
tial prerequisite  to  the  right  kind  of  work  in  the  harvest 
field  also  appear  in  this  explicit  direction.  Our  modern 
inclination  is  constantly  to  think  that  the  reaping  of  spir- 
itual harvests,  the  extending  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth,  is  our  human  responsibility;  'and  so,  with  the  best 
brains  and  organization  and  effort  we  can  summon,  we  try 
to  make  it  our  human  achievement.  Jesus  reminds  us 
here  that  the  same  God  who,  in  ways  not  only  past  our 
imitation  but  also  past  even  our  understanding,  caused 
the  grain  to  grow  from  the  seed  and  ripen  into  the  head 
is  also  “Lord  of  the  harvest.”  It  is  His  enterprise  and 
therefore  His  responsibility;  and  we  men  can  only  find  our 
rightful  place  in  it  as  we  put  ourselves  under  His  direc- 
tion. God  has  His  plans  for  the  harvest  as  truly  as  for 
the  sowing  and  the  ripening  of  the  grain;  and  His  direc- 
tion and  blessing  is  as  indispensable  for  the  one  as  for  the 
other.  There  is  a glimpse  here  into  Jesus’  view  of  the 
spiritual  processes  of  history,  and  of  the  progress  of  the 
Kingdom  among  men,  which  we  self-confident  and  pre- 
cipitate moderns  greatly  need.  We  feel  sure  we  can  rush 
out  and  bring  in  the  Kingdom  with  some  grand  cam- 
paign or  efficiency  program  of  our  own  device.  Jesus  re- 

86 


minds  us  that  God’s  direction  of  the  harvesting  is  just  as 
necessary  as  His  blessing  upon  the  sown  seed.  The  plan 
of  campaign,  if  it  is  to  be  successful,  must  be  His  rather 
than  ours;  and  we  must  place  ourselves  at  His  ordering, 
as  must  all  other  laborers,  if  the  work  is  to  be  rightly  done. 
This  is  the  deeper  meaning  of  Jesus’  insistence  upon 
prayer  as  the  essential  preliminary  to  the  right  kind  of 
work  in  the  harvest  field.  Only  through  prayer  can  we 
discover  God’s  program  and  go  forth  to  our  own  part  in 
it  with  His  commission. 

A meaning  deeper  yet  in  Jesus’  emphasis  upon  prayer 
appears  when  we  look  for  the  nature  of  this  divine  com- 
mission which  He  insists  is  essential  to  successful  work. 
The  word  translated  “send  forth”  is  in  the  Greek  a very 
strong  one,  fairly  to  be  translated  “thrust  forth.”  The 
vigorous  impulse  which  it  implies  surely  cannot  be  that  of 
outer  compulsion,  for  Jesus  never  represents  God  as  forc- 
ing His  servants  to  work  like  a slaveholder.  It  is  an  inner 
impulse  that  God  quickens  in  the  hearts  of  all  His  true 
servants  in  every  age,  — the  thrust  from  within  that  Paul 
felt  so  powerfully  when  he  said,  “The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  me.”  This  is  the  only  motive  power  to  Christian 
service  that  is  commensurate  with  the  size  and  difficulty 
of  the  undertaking.  Jesus  makes  it  plain  that  it  is  God 
himself  who  thus  equips  His  workers  with  the  inner  en- 
dowment which  is  necessary  for  the  adequate  performance 
of  their  task;  and  that  it  is  prayer  which  opens  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  His  children  to  receive  this  indispensable 
commission. 

We  can  easily  imagine  that  Jesus  had  seen  in  the  re- 
ligious workers  of  His  own  time  abundant  reason  for 
insisting  on  this  inner  equipment  for  spiritual  service 
which  alone  can  make  it  effective.  There  was  no  lack  in 
His  day  of  those  who  thought  they  were  doing  the  Lord 
service.  One  considerable  company  of  them  — the  scribes 
and  Pharisees  — were  very  careful  to  go  through  the  mo- 


87 


tions  of  religious  service  with  special  attention  to  correct- 
ness of  form.  But  Jesus  and  every  one  else  saw  that  their 
laborious  activity  was  absolutely  without  real  influence 
on  the  lives  of  their  fellows  or  the  progress  of  the  King- 
dom; it  lacked  the  inner  impulse  of  spiritual  vitality,  the 
contagious  spirit  of  sincere  good  will,  which  God  quickens 
in  the  hearts  of  His  fellow  workers,  and  which  alone  makes 
their  work  prevail  and  endure.  From  that  day  to  this 
there  have  been  those  who  have  laboriously  or  energetically 
gone  through  the  motions  of  Christian  service  with  simi- 
larly barren  results.  In  our  time  it  is  not  so  much,  per- 
haps, the  punctilious  formalism  of  the  Pharisee  as  it  is 
the  galvanic  activity  of  those  who  think  they  can  save 
the  world  and  themselves  by  much  busyness  about  re- 
ligious interest  and  undertakings  that  reminds  us  again 
how  utterly  spiritual  service  depends  for  its  value  on  that 
quickening  spirit  of  reality  and  vitality  which  men  can 
never  achieve  for  themselves,  but  only  God  can  create 
and  bestow.  How  sorely  we  Christians  of  the  early 
twentieth  century  need  to  pray  to  be  delivered  from  the 
futility  of  mere  mechanical  busyness!  For  that  never 
saved  any  soul  nor  really  advanced  the  Kingdom,  nor 
ever  will. 

Then  Jesus  knew  full  well,  also,  that  company  of  short- 
winded  enthusiasts  who  in  His  time,  as  in  every  age,  have 
been  quick  to  take  up  the  Lord’s  work  and  as  quick  to 
drop  it  when  the  burden  grew  heavy  or  the  road  long. 
The  gospels  tell  us  that  at  the  opening  of  His  own  ministry 
He  was  surrounded  by  great  multitudes  who  hailed  His 
preaching,  were  carried  away  by  His  personality,  and 
wanted  to  follow  in  His  train;  but  when  He  began  to 
lead  them  by  that  way  of  the  cross  on  which  He  frankly 
said  all  His  friends  must  expect  to  follow  Flim,  they 
“went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  him.”  He  has 
himself  given  us  the  perfect  picture  of  this  short-lived  de- 
votion in  His  parable  of  those  whose  hearts  have  no 

88 


“deepness  of  earth,”  the  seed  which  falls  there  springs  up 
quickly  enough,  but  they  have  no  “root  in  themselves” 
to  endure  the  test  of  difficulty  or  adversity.  What  pastor 
does  not  know  their  modern  successors;  quick  enough  to 
enthuse  over  the  new  idea  or  the  new  leader,  ready  enough 
to  respond  to  the  urgency  of  the  friend  whose  invitation 
to  serve  on  his  committee  they  cannot  refuse  for  personal 
reasons;  but  rarely  there  to  the  finish  of  the  long,  slow, 
spiritual  task.  Jesus  knew  well  enough  that  the  work  of 
the  harvest  field  to  which  He  summoned  men  would  not 
be  done  by  midmorning  or  even  by  noon,  and  that  only 
the  inexhaustible  inner  impulse  with  which  God  thrusts 
men  forth  to  service  (so  wonderfully  pictured  in  His  own 
parable  of  the  unfailing  well  of  living  water  within  the 
soul)  can  suffice  to  sustain  His  fellow  workers  in  their 
arduous  and  continuing  toil:  “Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  labourers  into  his 
harvest.” 

In  other  words,  the  work  of  the  Kingdom  is  at  once  so 
delicate  in  its  nature,  so  vast  in  its  extent,  and  so  exact- 
ing in  its  demands,  that  it  calls  for  more  than  human  wis- 
dom, effort  and  organization.  Misguided  activity  must 
fail  to  advance  it,  no  less  than  indifference  and  indolence. 
The  Kingdom  for  which  we  hope  and  work  and  pray  is  so 
essentially  God’s  that  we  cannot  expect  to  serve  it  except 
under  His  constant  direction  and  by  His  continuing  in- 
spiration. Only  He,  by  that  secret  entrance  and  influence 
which  He  possesses  within  the  hearts  of  men,  can  thus 
call  and  equip  for  His  service  an  adequate  number  of 
really  effective  laborers.  The  man  whom  Jesus  has  taught 
enough  about  “the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom”  to  realize 
this  will  see  that  Jesus’  call  to  prayer  in  the  presence  of 
the  white  harvest  field  is  really  the  only  adequate  first 
step  toward  getting  that  harvest  reaped;  for  it  will  put 
the  man  who  prays  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the 
“Lord  of  the  harvest”  for  whatever  service  he  can  render; 


89 


and  in  ways  that  he  may  not  fully  understand  it  will  open 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  others  for  whom  he  prays  to  that 
same  inspiring  and  enabling  presence. 

A spiritual  truth  so  simple  and  yet  so  profound  as  this 
is  often  plainer  under  the  form  of  a symbol.  Jesus  taught 
us  that  the  perfect  relationship  between  men  as  brethren 
and  God  as  their  Father,  which  He  came  to  establish  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  not  simply  a one-sided  ethical 
relation  between  man  and  man,  nor  yet  a one-sided  re- 
ligious relation  between  man  and  God,  but  rather  a tri- 
angular relationship,  linking  men  with  their  brother  men 
beside  them  and  with  God  above  them.  Jesus  insisted 
that  when  the  three  points  of  this  triangle  (ourselves, 
other  folks  and  God)  are  linked  up  together  in  a mutual 
relationship  of  confidence  and  love,  spiritual  forces  will  be 
released  around  that  triangle,  as  around  a closed  electrical 
circuit,  greater  and  more  powerful  by  far  than  men  iso- 
lated from  their  fellows  and  their  Father  can  ever  guess. 
He  continually  declared  that  prayer  is,  or  rather  releases, 
such  a force,  so  that  men  can  not  only  serve  one  another 
directly  by  acts  of  love,  but  can  through  prayer  (by  way 
of  God,  so  to  speak)  bring  blessing  into  other  lives;  and 
so  that  God  can  not  only  do  things  for  men  directly  through 
His  mercy,  but  through  other  men,  whose  lives  have  been 
made  His  channels  through  prayer  on  their  part,  can  send 
His  blessings  by  way  of  human  agencies.  In  such  a world 
of  spiritual  relationships,  the  man  who  wishes  to  forward 
the  Kingdom  of  God  will  look  not  only  for  opportunities 
for  personal  service  to  his  neighbor,  but  for  occasions  for 
prayer  on  their  behalf.  And  in  the  presence  of  fields 
white  to  the  spiritual  harvest,  he  will  realize  as  Jesus 
said,  that  prayer  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  alone  can 
open  the  way,  for  himself  and  for  others  as  well,  to  really 
effective  work  as  a reaper. 

What  now  does  all  this  mean  for  our  “New  W’orld  Move- 
ment?” Not  that  we  are  to  abandon  our  machinery,  give 


90 


up  our  organization,  stop  asking  for  money,  or  sit  idly  by 
while  the  opportunity  of  centuries  passes.  Rather  that 
the  sense  of  the  crisis  through  which  our  world  is  passing 
shall  drive  us  not  so  much  to  hysterical,  and  therefore 
spasmodic,  activity  but  to  our  knees  for  a deeper  under- 
standing of  God’s  great  purposes  and  our  own  part  in 
them,  and  for  an  inner  equipment  to  play  that  part  in 
His  sufficient  strength.  Prayer  in  this  spirit  will  not  dis- 
pense with  work  or  organization  but  will  vitalize  them. 
The  one  thing  we  modern  American  Christians  need  to  be 
very  sure  of  is  that  our  prayer  is  really  a preparation  for 
our  planning  and  our  working  and  not  simply  an  after- 
thought. Never  were  fields  more  white  to  the  spiritual 
harvest  than  those  that  stretch  the  world  around  to-day. 
Never  was  there  greater  need,  in  our  own  hearts  or  in  the 
hearts  of  hungry  men  who  know  not  what  they  seek  or 
where,  that  we  should  follow  Christ’s  program  for  the 
reaping:  — 

The  harv'est  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few;  Pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  labourers  into 
his  harvest. 


91 


CHRISTIANIZING  THE  NATION’S  BANK  ROLL 


BY  EDWIN  M.  POTEAT 


The  Size  of  the  Roll 

On  the  9th  of  June  of  this  year  the  comptroller  of  the 
treasury  said:  “The  wealth  produced  in  the  United 

States  in  the  year  1918  is  estimated  as  not  far  from 
$60,000,000,000,  or  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  total 
wealth  of  the  whole  German  empire  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war.”  Estimates  of  the  national  wealth  vary  from 
$250,000,000,000  to  $320,000,000,000,  and  for  a consider- 
able period  the  annual  production  was  put  at  $20,000,- 
000,000.  If  we  had  had  our  present  wealth  in  George 
Washington’s  day  we  could  have  bought  every  foot  of 
ground  on  the  earth’s  surface,  paid  cash,  and  had  money 
left  in  the  bank.  Of  course  we  have  no  way  of  con- 
ceiving these  enormous  figures.  There  is  more  wealth 
in  dollars  in  the  United  States  to-day  than  there  have 
been  seconds  of  time  since  the  Garden  of  Eden.  On 
November  1,  1917,  the  comptroller  of  the  treasury  re- 
ported the  resources  of  our  national  banks  as  aggregating 
$15,520,000,000,  exceeding  by  $1,000,000,000  the  com- 
bined resources  of  the  Bank  of  England,  France,  Russia, 
Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  Netherlands,  Denmark,  Switzer- 
land and  Japan,  and  the  United  States  national  banks 
for  the  first  time  reported  a surplus  and  undivided  profits 
equal  to  their  capital  stock.  Said  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury:  “We  have  been  transformed  from  a debtor  to 
a creditor  nation.  This  is  not  the  opening  of  a new 
chapter  in  our  economical  history,  but  the  beginning  of 
Book  II.  When  the  war  began  there  were  five  creditor 


92 


nations;  that  is,  nations  that  had  capital  to  lend,  — Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany,  Holland  and  Belgium.  All 
others  were  borrowers,  including  our  own.  Now  Ameri- 
can capital  is  being  loaned  in  all  five  continents  and  the 
United  States  dollar  is  a more  important  unit  in  inter- 
national exchange  than  the  English  pound  sterling.  The 
money  center  of  the  world  has  shifted  to  New  York.” 

The  “Manchester  Guardian,”  writing  in  1917,  said: 
“This  year  America’s  foreign  trade  will  amount  to  $8,000,- 
000,000,  one-fifth  of  the  foreign  trade  of  the  whole  world. 
Her  foreign  trade  in  1916  is  one-half  again  as  great  as  in 
1915,  and  twice  as  great  as  in  1914.” 

The  United  States  Congress  which  expired  March  4, 
1919,  appropriated  $57,000,000,000,  and  authorized  $22,- 
000,000,000  in  Government  bonds. 

The  savings  banks  of  New  York  State  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1919,  reported  $225,000,000,000  of  deposits, 
$65,500,000  more  than  on  the  1st  of  January,  1918. 

In  three  months  of  the  winter  1918-19  a single  trust 
company  in  Boston  reported  an  increase  in  deposits  of 
upwards  of  $2,000,000. 

While  we  were  at  war  we  laid  by  in  perfectly  good 
savings,  at  a good  per  cent  of  interest,  $1,000,000,000  a 
month  in  Liberty  Bonds. 


Congratulations  or  Commiserations? 

Are  we  to  congratulate  ourselves  or  commiserate  our- 
selves on  these  enormous  and  inconceivable  figures?  John 
Ruskin  raised  the  question  whether  wealth  might  not 
better  be  called  “illth,”  as  tending  to  our  ill-being  rather 
than  our  well-being,  and  certain  it  is  that  every  great 
civilization  which  has  perished,  perished  after  a period 
of  great  prosperity.  Byron  has  put  the  fact  in  unforget- 
able  lines:  — 


93 


Here  is  the  moral  of  all  human  tales, 

’Tis  but  the  same  rehearsal  of  the  past, 

First,  Freedom,  then  Glory,  when  that  fails. 

Wealth,  Vice,  Corruption,  Barbarism  at  last, 

And  history  with  all  her  volumes  vast 
Hath  but  one  page. 

Carlyle  was  forever  insisting  that  the  pursuit  of  wealth 
is  not  a human  bond,  and  Mr.  L.  P.  Jacks,  commenting, 
says:  “Seekers  of  buried  treasure  invariably  quarrel 

among  themselves  for  reasons  which  are  manifest  to  a 
child.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  it  is  hidden  in  a 
pirates’  cavern  or  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  They  may 
arrange  a most  equitable  scheme  for  the  division  of  the 
spoils  and  seal  their  mutual  loyalty  with  fearful  oaths, 
but  before  the  voyage  is  over  the  captain  will  be  dangling 
at  the  yardarm  and  the  deck  will  be  slippery  with  the 
blood  of  half  the  crew.”  Ruskin  has  given  us  the  same 
warning  in  one  of  the  most  eloquent  sentences  ever  writ- 
ten: “Since  the  dominion  of  man  was  first  asserted  over 
the  ocean  three  thrones  of  mark  above  all  others  have 
been  set  upon  its  sands:  the  thrones  of  Tyre,  of  Venice 
and  of  England.  Of  the  first,  only  the  memory  remains, 
of  the  second,  the  ruins;  the  third,  which  inherits  their 
greatness,  if  she  forget  their  example  may  be  led  through 
a prouder  eminence  to  a less  pitied  destruction.”  Tyre 
fell  after  a period  of  great  prosperity.  At  one  time  the 
sails  of  the  commerce  of  the  queen  city  of  the  Adriatic 
whitened  all  the  Mediterranean,  but  her  wealth  became 
her  doom.  And  Ruskin’s  warning  to  his  native  England 
is  more  pertinent  and  solemn  to  us  of  the  United  States 
to-day  than  to  any  other  nation  on  earth. 

A Sign  of  Promise 

There  is  a sign  of  promise  in  the  fact  of  the  tremendous 
outpouring  of  life  and  treasure  in  the  war,  for  late  as  we 
were  in  entering  it  the  war  gave  us  our  supreme  oppor- 

94 


tunity  to  prove  to  ourselves  and  to  all  the  world  that  we 
value  an  idea  — democracy  — more  than  we  value  gold 
or  life;  that  our  alleged  worship  of  the  almighty  dollar  is 
a libel,  and  that  once  we  were  given  the  chance  to  choose 
we  chose  in  the  spirit  of  the  men  of  ’76  and  ’61.  Kipling 
has  spoken  for  us  all  in  the  lines:  — 

Then  praise  the  Lord  most  High, 

Whose  strength  has  saved  us  whole; 

Who  bade  us  choose  that  flesh  should  die, 

And  not  the  living  soul. 

But  it  is  worth  while  to  remind  ourselves  that  all  our 
war  charities  — Red  Cross,  War  Work  Drive,  Salvation 
Army,  War  Chests,  etc.,  — probably  fell  short  of  $700,- 
000,000.  That  is  to  say,  they  did  not  equal  in  amount  the 
interest  of  a single  year  on  our  Liberty  Bonds,  money 
which  we  laid  by  in  savings  only  because  we  were  at  war. 

Of  course  it  is  impossible  accurately  to  assess  the  amount 
of  the  wealth  of  the  nation  in  Christian  hands.  In  the 
year  1916  there  were  upwards  of  twenty-five  million  mem- 
bers in  evangelical  churches  in  the  country,  with  adher- 
ents of  twenty-five  million  more.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that 
these  persons  are  as  industrious  and  as  saving  as  any  other 
sections  of  our  population.  We  cannot  be  far  from  the 
facts  if  we  say  that  half  the  total  wealth  of  the  nation  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  evangelical  churches. 

The  $167, (XX), 000  subscribed  by  the  Methodists  in  their 
great  centenary  drive,  when  analyzed,  is  shown  to  amount 
to  11  cents  per  week  per  member.  If  all  the  evangelical 
population  of  the  country  did  as  well,  we  should  pile  up  a 
total  of  $910,000,000. 

How  to  Christianize  our  Money 

We  have  been  engaged  through  centuries  in  the  task  of 
Christianizing  our  theology  and  our  church  polity.  We 
must  now  advance  to  the  harder  task  of  Christianizing 

95 


our  money.  And  unless  Christ’s  people  take  the  lead 
here  they  will  forfeit  the  leadership  of  an  industrial  and 
commercial  age.  Unless  we  can  spiritualize  our  material 
resources,  that  is,  unless  we  can  invest  them  with  spiritual 
values  and  subordinate  them  to  spiritual  ends  and  direct 
them  to  spiritual  objectives,  they  will  materialize  us  and 
our  last  state  will  be  worse  than  the  first.  A man  wrote 
his  own  epitaph  as  follows:  — 

Born  a human  being, 

Died  a wholesale  grocer. 

The  pastor  was  leading  a candidate  into  the  baptistry. 
The  candidate  suddenly  remembered  that  he  had  his 
pocketbook  in  his  pocket.  “Oh,  I forgot  to  take  my 
pocketbook  out  of  my  pocket!”  The  pastor  answered 
quickly:  “Never  mind,  let  it  be  baptized  too.” 

First.  — We  begin  to  Christianize  our  money  when  we 
see  the  peril  of  accumulation  and  frankly  acknowledge  it 
as  a peril.  We  must  see  not  merely  that  the  poor  and  the 
dispossessed  will  become  increasingly  angry  at  sight  of  our 
luxurious  ease,  but  that  character  itself  rapidly  deteriorates 
under  accumulation.  A faithful  deacon  once  said  to  his 
pastor,  “The  more  I have  the  meaner  I feel.”  It  was  a 
perfectly  sound  judgment  of  the  man’s  conscience  on  his 
character.  Said  Bishop  Spalding:  “The  ability  to  make 
and  save  money  carries  with  it  the  destruction  of  the  im- 
pulse to  give  it  away.”  I do  not  decide  here  whether  that 
saying  is  true,  but  it  sufficiently  indicates  the  peril  alluded 
to.  Or  as  Oliver  Goldsmith  put  it:  — 

111  fares  the  land  to  hastening  ills  a prey, 

Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay. 

Second.  — It  will  help  to  prevent  this  decay  if  we  face 
and  answer  the  question,  Who  makes  the  money? 

What  are  the  factors  in  production?  Adam  Smith 
(1723-1790)  will  answer,  land,  labor  and  capital;  and  the 


96 


answer  has  entered  so  completely  into  the  thinking  of  a 
hundred  years  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  revise  it,  or, 
indeed,  to  get  serious  attention  to  it.  It  must  be  said 
with  all  positiveness  that  such  an  answer  can  no  longer 
satisfy.  All  production  of  wealth  is  a co-operative  enter- 
prise in  which  God,  society  and  the  individual  are  the 
co-operating  factors.  God  contributes  all  the  original  ma- 
terials of  wealth.  “The  sea  is  his,  and  he  made  it;  and 
his  hand  formed  the  dry  land.”  “In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth.”  “The  earth  is  the 
Lord’s,  and  the  fulness  thereof.”  Thus  the  primary  capi- 
tal together  with  the  laws  of  nature,  including  the  laws  of 
health  and  all  intelligent  action,  are  God’s  contribution 
to  the  joint  product  which  we  call  wealth. 

Society  makes  its  contribution  in  two  ways:  It  gives 
to  wealth  the  character  of  wealth.  There  can  be  no 
capital  without  society.  Immanuel  Kant  said:  “If  a 
man  were  alone  on  the  earth,  between  himself  as  person 
and  all  other  objects  as  things  there  could  be  no  relation.” 
That  is  to  say,  isolated  man  could  not  have  wealth.  The 
presence  of  others  constitutes  the  opportunity  of  exchange 
and  calls  for  a medium  of  exchange.  If  Mr.  Carnegie, 
when  he  sold  his  business  to  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation,  had  taken  his  3500,000,000  in  a single  cer- 
tificate and  started  upon  a voyage  around  the  world,  so 
long  as  he  was  in  society,  that  is,  a member  of  the  ship’s 
passengers,  he  could  be  said  to  have  wealth.  But  let 
the  ship  be  wrecked,  and  let  Mr.  Carnegie  find  himself 
alone  on  an  island  in  the  South  Pacific,  and  his  $500,000,- 
000  would  be  worth  exactly  nothing!  He  would  starve 
to  death  unless,  like  Robinson  Crusoe,  he  developed 
sufficient  resources  to  get  food  and  shelter  on  the  island. 
That  is  to  say,  when  a man  drops  out  of  society  his  wealth 
ceases  to  be  wealth. 

But  society  contributes  in  another  way.  It  enhances 
the  value  of  our  accumulations.  Manhattan  Island  was 


97 


sold  by  the  Indians  for  #28.  To-day  the  land  represented 
in  that  transaction  is  said  to  be  worth  #325,000,000. 
Who  made  that  money?  The  answer  is,  society.  In  one 
of  our  large  cities  a man  paid  #25,000  for  a tract  of  land; 
a few  years  afterward  he  was  offered  #125,000  for  the 
same  tract,  and  he  wrote  a book  to  prove  that  he  did 
not  make  that  #100,000.  The  general  movement  of 
population  created  that  increment.  The  owner  certainly 
did  not  earn  it  by  any  labor  of  his  brain  or  hand. 

But  we  saw  that  labor  is  one  of  the  factors  in  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth.  This  is  the  contribution  of  the  in- 
dividual. Does  he  contribute  anything  else?  Nothing, 
except  what  he  contributes  as  a member  of  society.  One 
man  told  me  he  attempted  to  calculate  the  amount  of 
his  contribution  to  his  own  prosperity.  He  ran  an  ice 
plant,  an  electric-light  plant,  a dairy  and  an  ice-cream 
factory,  and  he  was  very  prosperous.  In  repeated  cal- 
culations he  had  never  got  his  contribution  above  5 per 
cent,  God  and  society  contributing  the  other  95  per  cent. 

Third.  — Preachers  must  grow  the  courage  to  teach 
the  New  Testament  on  the  subject  of  money.  The  mind 
of  Jesus  is  abundantly  indicated  on  this  subject.  “Lay 
not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  on  earth”  is  as  plain  an 
injunction  as  “Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  the  nations.”  Indeed  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
the  two  injunctions  hold  together  in  his  mind,  for  men 
who  are  bent  upon  piling  up  wealth  for  themselves  and 
for  their  children  are  not  likely  to  be  in  earnest  in  the 
task  of  bringing  the  non-Christian  nations  into  disciple- 
ship.  Whereas  those  who  obey  the  second  injunction 
“Go”  find  that  the  first  injunction,  “Lay  not  up,”  is 
almost  unnecessary,  for  when  one  makes  it  the  aim  of 
his  life  to  share  the  light  and  peace  and  power  of  the 
Christian  salvation  with  those  who  do  not  know  it,  he  is 
not  likely  to  be  interested  in  laying  up  treasure  for 
himself. 


98 


Fourth.  — Our  people  must  be  willing  for  the  mind  of 
Christ  about  money  to  be  preached.  Indeed  many 
Christian  men  are  in  real  perplexity  because  this  teaching 
has  been  so  long  neglected  in  the  ministries  of  the  churches. 
A Christian  conscience  entirely  adequate  to  a transaction 
between  neighbors  is  not  certainly  ready  at  once  to  pass 
judgment  upon  business  transactions  which  involve 
myriads  of  human  lives  and  run  out  in  their  remoter 
bearings  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  And  one  can  see  that 
much  of  the  confusion  of  our  times  is  due  to  the  failure 
of  the  Christian  pulpit  to  interpret  and  enforce  the  New 
Testament  ideals  in  the  making,  handling  and  distri- 
bution of  money. 

When  all  is  said  and  done,  our  only  hope  of  Christian- 
izing our  money  is  in  carrying  the  whole  body  of  American 
Christians  back  to  the  scriptural  teachings  about  money 
and  its  rightful  use  by  us  as  stewards.  Our  property 
and  all  our  property  interests  are  included  in  the  re- 
demption which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  “Ye  were  bought 
with  a price.”  Men  begin  with  subtracting  a tenth  and 
devoting  it  sacredly  to  the  maintenance  of  public  worship. 
They  go  on  and  on  and  on  to  living  on  the  tenth  and 
distributing  the  nine-tenths.  Or  as  a Christian  jurist, 
the  best-loved  lawyer  in  his  metropolitan  city,  said  to 
me:  “I  have  no  interest  whatever  in  making  money 
except  as  I can  give  it  away.” 


99 


MINISTERIAL  COMPENSATION 


BY  D.  C.  SHULL,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  NORTHERN  BAPTIST 
CONVENTION 


Conditions  actually  existing  cannot  be  long  ignored. 
We  can  inveigh  against  them;  can  claim  they  will  soon 
change;  that  the  old  order  will  be  restored  if  we  simply 
have  patience;  but  in  spite  of  our  protestations  and  our 
determination  not  to  recognize  facts,  the  thing  which 
really  does  exist  confronts  us,  — will  not  be  put  down,  — 
and  we  finally  must  admit  its  existence. 

We  have  been  hoping  the  matter  of  compensation  for 
the  ministry  of  our  church  would  right  itself,  — that  it 
would  automatically  reach  a satisfactory  basis  which  at 
least  would  be  somewhat  similar  to  that  heretofore  obtain- 
ing. We  have  been  so  used  to  the  sacrifices  and  economies 
of  the  minister  and  his  family  that  we  seem  to  have  got 
the  idea  those  sacrifices  and  economies  must  continue, — 
we  don’t  know  how;  that  they  are  too  much  a part  of  the 
ministry,  so  absolutely  necessary  to  its  functioning,  too 
sacred,  ever  to  be  changed.  Besides,  our  ministers  were 
taught  in  the  theological  schools  and  in  the  churches  theirs 
was  to  be  a life  of  sacrifice,  of  self-abnegation.  Their 
wives,  also,  of  course,  knew  such  limitations  were  to  be 
imposed  upon  their  husbands  and  families.  Therefore  how 
disappointed  they  would  be  if  any  other  conditions  should 
ever  arise!  Our  denomination  has  been  schooled  in  this 
sort  of  thinking,  — to  think  thus  costs  nothing;  it  was 
very  economical  and  we  liked  it  and  still  like  it. 

No  one  seems  to  know  just  why  the  minister  and  his 
family  must  always  have  a life  of  hardship,  why  his  par- 
ticular service  to  the  church  and  community  requires  it, 
but,  nevertheless,  it  has  been  so,  is  now  so,  and  of  course 


100 


must  be  so  in  the  future.  In  matters  of  education,  business 
and  pleasure  there  must  be  radical  changes  all  the  time, 
but  in  the  mode  of  living  and  home  environment  of  the 
pastor  the  rules  are  different,  — these  must  always  go  on 
as  of  yore! 

In  the  business  world  to-day,  every  one  admits  com- 
pensation has  to  be  on  a different  basis  from  what  it  was 
formerly.  Why?  Not  because  business  desires  to  in- 
crease compensation,  but  because  it  is  forced  to.  Few 
compensations  in  the  business  world  have  been  increased 
voluntarily;  conditions,  over  which  those  who  pay  these 
increased  compensations  had  no  control,  required  them. 
We  have  reached  a time  in  the  history  of  our  denomination 
when  tremendous  increases  in  the  compensation  of  our 
ministry  have  to  be  made,  — not  because  the  churches 
want  to  make  such  increases,  not  because  the  ministry  de- 
mands them,  but  because  the  life  and  the  future  of  the 
denomination  and  its  work  cannot  get  along  without  them. 
Our  ministry  has  made  no  demands.  It  has  patiently 
plodded  along,  hoping  conditions  would  change.  Our 
churches,  as  such,  have  not  considered  the  matter,  al- 
though, of  course,  individual  churches  have  acted.  The 
minister  has  felt  he  could  not  make  demands,  and  that 
for  the  time  he  had  to  w'ork  he  wrould  do  so  without  com- 
plaining if  the  compensation  was  merely  increased  to 
cover  the  actual  requirements;  and  I think  this  is  a splen- 
did attitude  on  the  part  of  our  ministry  to-day. 

The  situation,  however,  is  not  one  of  which  the  young 
man  who  ought  to  go  into  the  ministry  and  the  young 
woman  who  ought  to  go  into  the  mission  work  are  un- 
mindful. You  say:  “These  young  people  are  too  materi- 
alistic. They  do  not  have  the  courage  of  the  young  men 
and  women  of  the  generations  past.”  And  you  berate 
them  for  their  lack  of  desire  to  economize  and  sacrifice. 
Let  us  consider  this  phase  for  a moment:  Have  the  former 
sacrifices  and  the  miserable  economies  of  our  ministers, 


101 


their  wives  and  families  been  of  any  permanent  benefit 
to  the  denomination  and  the  churches?  It  has  been  a 
grievous  burden  to  those  upon  whom  it  rested,  but  has  it 
created  a corresponding  compensation  anywhere?  Has  it 
been  appreciated?  On  the  contrary  has  it  not  belittled 
the  ministry  itself  and  placed  it  in  a wrong  light  before 
those  whom  it  served,  and  brought  us  to  our  present  in- 
defensible position?  Viewed  from  this  angle,  is  not  the 
idea  of  our  young  people  toward  this  matter  eminently 
just,  and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  correct? 

Our  denomination  must  face  the  issue.  We  must  solve 
this  problem  correctly  if  we  continue  to  live.  Young 
people  cannot  always  analyze  a given  state  of  facts  and 
say  why  a thing  is  so,  but  they  can  see  actual  results  and 
act  accordingly.  The  Baptist  denomination  cannot  exist 
— much  less  function  efficiently  — without  its  ministry. 
I know  this  is  a disputed  question  in  some  localities,  where 
the  laymen  think  they  can  successfully  take  the  place  of 
the  minister,  but  I want  to  reiterate,  as  my  own  positive 
conviction,  our  ministers  are  essential  to  our  denomina- 
tional existence.  If  so,  we  need  strong,  virile,  capable, 
efficient  men  and  women.  We  must,  therefore,  have  the 
finest  boys  and  girls  of  our  churches.  These  are  not  only 
our  salvation,  but  they  make  the  future  possible.  These 
young  men  and  women  whom  we  need,  whom  we  must 
have,  will  measure  the  future  of  the  denomination  by  what 
it  is  doing  now  and  by  its  plans  in  the  present,  making  for 
the  future.  Just  as  the  parents  of  to-day  are  shaping  the 
character  and  marking  out  the  future  of  their  children, 
so  also  the  churches  of  to-day  are  making  the  ministers 
and  missionaries,  and  fixing  the  limitations  and  possibil- 
ities of  the  services  they  will  render  in  the  future  at  home 
and  abroad. 

We  must,  therefore,  take  a great  stride  forward  in  our 
idea  of  compensation  for  our  ministry.  It  is  useless  for  us 
to  raise  large  sums  for  other  purposes  and  neglect  this. 

102 


A new  standard  must  obtain.  VVc  must  not  simply  pay 
a wage  or  a salary  as  low  as  we  can  possibly  arrange,  but 
we  must  make  a compensation  for  these  services  upon  a 
basis  of  what  is  just.  I do  not  like  the  term  “wages”  or 
“salary”  of  a preacher.  It  sounds  as  if  he  were  hired  on 
a mercenary  basis  on  the  best  terms  obtainable.  Let  us 
put  this  whole  matter  upon  a basis  of  compensation, 
thinking  not  only  of  how  it  affects  the  pastor  who  now 
serves,  but  of  the  impression  it  gives  to  those  who  might, 
and  we  hope  may,  serve  in  the  future,  thinking  of  justice 
and  hoping  for  correct  results.  The  denomination  must 
have  the  best.  The  best  must  be  attracted.  Just  com- 
pensation to  those  who  serve  us  now  will  be  the  best  guar- 
antee that  we  will  be  just  to  those  who  consecrate  their 
lives  to  our  service  for  the  future. 

It  has  been  thought  by  many  that  we  have  a more 
consecrated  ministry  by  reason  of  its  forced  economies 
and  sacrifices  than  otherwise  we  should  have.  I cannot 
but  believe  that  the  carrying  of  the  burdens  and  sorrows 
of  the  people  of  our  churches,  which  will  always  be  the 
inheritance  of  our  ministry,  will  be  sufficient  cross  for 
them,  and  that  the  needs  of  themselves  and  those  whom 
they  love,  and  their  dependents,  ought  not  to  be  added. 

The  individual  churches  of  our  denomination  know 
whether  the  compensation  now  paid  is  just  or  not.  The 
amount  paid  in  the  past  should  not  be  the  standard  now. 
I appeal  to  the  churches  to  consider  this  matter,  not  only 
as  it  affects  your  present  pastorate  but  also  as  it  affects 
the  denomination’s  great  future.  Reconsider  this  whole 
matter  in  the  light  of  the  present  conditions,  the  existing 
facts,  the  necessity  for  preparing  now  for  our  future 
ministry,  and  make  an  increase  to  your  pastor,  not  as  a 
wage  or  salary  but  as  a just,  fair  and  reasonable  com- 
pensation for  a service  which  cannot  be  measured  by 
either  a wage  or  salary,  and  which  is  so  far-reaching  in 
its  influence  that  we  cannot  now  estimate  its  importance. 


103 


PRESENT  DAY  EVANGELISM 


BY  JAMES  A.  FRANCIS 


“Do  the  Work  of  an  Evangelist” 

Evangelism  is  the  work  of  presenting  Jesus  Christ  to 
men,  women  and  children  in  such  a way  as  to  secure 
their  hearty  acceptance  of  Him  by  faith  and  their  open 
acknowledgment  of  Him  as  Saviour  and  Master.  Christ 
is  the  whole  of  Christianity.  The  soul’s  relation  to  him 
is  the  first  and  last  article  of  a saving  creed.  Evangelism 
is  not  the  whole  of  the  churches’  work,  but  it  is  the  heart 
of  it.  Nothing  can  be  a substitute  for  it.  No  campaign 
of  education  or  social  service,  important  as  these  are, 
can  take  the  place  of  personal  persuasion  to  close  with 
Christ.  The  church  that  ceases  to  be  evangelistic  ceases 
in  any  true  sense  to  be  evangelical  and  to  that  extent 
ceases  to  be  Christian.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves 
with  excuses..  The  Master’s  command  to  “Go  and  make 
disciples”  is  absolute  and  imperative;  unless  with  all 
our  other  forms  of  Christian  activity  we  are  persuading 
men  to  the  decision  for  Christ  and  so  furthering  His 
program  in  the  world,  we  are  sadly  missing  that  mark 
at  the  very  center  of  things.  The  church  that  is  having 
no  conversions  ought  to  be  possessed  with  a divinely 
wrought  discontent  till  the  case  is  remedied.  The  min- 
ister who  is  having  no  conversions  has  a right  to  a holy 
desperation  concerning  both  himself  and  his  ministry. 
Let  him  not  say,  “The  special  gift  of  the  evangelist  is 
not  mine.”  It  is  his  business  to  discover  the  evangelist 
that  is  in  him  and  bring  him  out. 

There  is  not  only  the  individual  ambassadorship  of  the 
man  called  of  God  in  the  special  work,  there  is  also  the 
corporate  ambassadorship  of  the  church  as  the  body  of 

104 


Christ.  The  New  Testament  ideal  is  that  all  who  know 
Christ  as  Saviour  are  to  go  or  send  to  all  who  do  not  so 
know  Him  and  make  Him  known  in  such  a way  as  to 
secure  discipleship.  It  is  neither  a side  line  nor  an 
occasional  spurt  of  effort,  but  the  main  trunk  line  in 
constant  employ  of  the  church  that  lives  inside  the  mind 
of  Christ. 

Occasionally  we  find  a church  that  has  the  evangelistic 
atmosphere  constant  and  abiding.  The  welcome  of  Jesus 
for  the  lost,  — the  shepherd  heart  of  the  great  seeker  is 
in  evidence  and  breathes  through  the  whole  worship  and 
life  of  the  church.  Why  not  make  this  the  norm  and  make 
all  our  churches  so? 

A church  where  conversions  are  always  in  order  and 
always  expected  is  about  as  near  Heaven  as  we  shall  ever 
get  on  this  side  of  the  river.  The  compensation  and 
satisfaction  of  this  work  are  beyond  words. 

Hearts  I have  won  of  sister  or  of  brother. 

Quick  on  the  earth  or  hidden  in  the  sod, 

Lo!  every  one  awaiteth  me,  another 
Friend  in  the  blameless  family  of  God. 

It  will  be  but  a little  while  till  we  stand  in  His  very 
presence.  To  know  then  that  we  have  helped  Him  win 
His  own  and  remake  His  world,  what  will  it  be? 

What  now  do  we  mean  by  “present  day  evangelism?” 
We  mean  the  presentation  of  the  ancient  presage  in  the 
thought  forms  and  speech  of  our  own  time  so  as  to  make 
it  intelligible  and  effective  with  the  men  of  to-day.  The 
message  changes  never.  The  expression  of  it  changes 
constantly.  The  sermons  of  Charles  G.  Finney,  which 
shook  communities  in  the  New  England  and  Middle  States 
as  with  an  earthquake  two  generations  ago,  would  not 
shake  these  communities  to-day  if  preached  by  the  same 
man  and  with  the  same  earnestness.  He  knew  his  day 
and  fitted  it.  It  is  ours  to  be  as  wise  in  our  day. 

105 


Phrases  like  coins  get  smooth  from  use,  and  need  to  be 
reminted.  The  supreme  lesson  of  the  incarnation  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  flesh  is  adaptation.  He  gets  at  mankind  so 
that  mankind  could  get  at  Him.  He  is  God  coming  to 
men  in  such  a way  that  men  can  come  to  God.  “To 
bring  us  to  God”  was  His  mission;  to  bring  God  to  us 
in  such  a way  that  we  could  understand  Him  with  head 
and  heart  was  His  method.  The  task  of  present  day 
evangelism  is  to  bring  Christ  to  the  modern  mind  so  that 
men  can  be  induced  to  come  to  Christ.  The  presentation 
which  fitted  and  drew  men  once  may  be  “an  unknown 
tongue”  to  the  mind  of  to-day.  Our  blessed  Lord  knew 
how  to  present  His  message  so  that  “the  common  people 
heard  Him  gladly.” 

Happy  is  the  man  who  knows  how  to  popularize  the 
ancient  message  and  thus  socialize  the  highest  and  best 
God  has  given.  “For  their  sakes  I consecrate  myself.” 
The  message  fits  the  heart  of  man  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury as  well  as  it  did  in  the  first,  and  we  find  the  key.  As 
we  give  ourselves  to  this  task  of  interpreting  Christ  to 
our  own  day  we  learn  anew  what  it  means  to  love  God 
and  men  “ with  all  our  mind.” 

Into  the  consideration  of  the  work  of  evangelism  three 
things  naturally  enter:  the  message,  the  messenger  and 
the  method.  Let  us  look  at  each  in  turn. 

The  Message 

God,  moved  by  holy  love,  has  revealed  Himself  in 
Jesus  Christ  for  man’s  salvation,  and  he  who  comes  into 
the  relationship  with  Christ  of  the  obedience  of  faith 
finds  forgiveness  for  the  past,  help  for  the  present,  and 
hope  for  the  future. 

The  supreme  item  and  issue  in  the  presentation  of  the 
message  is  Christ  himself.  All  sides  of  His  gracious  ac- 
tivity, all  the  offices  He  fills,  and  all  the  forms  of  love  He 
wears  should  be  set  forth  in  relation  to  himself  as  center. 


106 


We  preach  not  simply  an  incarnation,  but  the  in- 
carnate one;  not  simply  a message,  but  a divine  mes- 
senger; not  simply  a body  of  teachers,  but  the  great 
Teacher;  not  simply  a beautiful  example,  but  Christ 
our  example;  not  a cross  only,  but  Christ  crucified;  not 
a doctrine  of  a resurrection  from  the  dead,  but  a risen 
Lord;  not  a certain  type  of  life  or  way  of  living,  but 
“Christ  who  is  our  Life;”  and  not  simply  a judgment 
day,  but  “Christ  as  judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead.” 
The  more  keenly  we  can  lead  our  hearers  to  feel  that  they 
are  face  to  face  with  a person  who  waits  unseen  their 
answer  to  His  wooing,  the  sharper  persuasive  edge  our 
message  will  have.  It  is  easier  to  lay  aside  a doctrine 
than  to  turn  away  from  a friend.  Beyond  all  doubt  the 
central  converting  message  of  the  Gospel  is  Christ  cruci- 
fied to  preserve  to  man  as  Lord  the  one  who  was  crucified 
for  him,  — is  God’s  ultimate.  This  is  the  limit  of  abso- 
lute love.  This  is  the  most  difficult  and  the  most  effective 
of  all  preaching.  In  preaching  Christ  crucified  we  pro- 
claim by  implication  the  awfulness  of  human  sin.  It 
must  be  a fearful  element  in  human  life  that  called  for 
such  a remedy  as  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  Here  God 
gets  His  stronger  grip  on  the  conscience,  — the  mortgage 
of  an  immeasurable  gratitude.  A crucified  Saviour  redeems 
us  into  the  very  consciousness  of  our  need  of  Him.  Here, 
too,  is  the  strongest  motive  for  repentance.  “One  died 
for  all,  that  they  who  live  should  not  henceforth  live 
unto  themselves  but  unto  Him  who  for  their  sakes  died 
and  rose  again.”  Once  get  a man  to  feel  that  he  is  sinning 
against  an  infinite  lover  and  he  will  break  away. 

Here,  too,  is  the  strongest  motive  for  consecration. 
When  the  stern  call  of  duty  is  reenforced  by  the  sense  of 
love,  religious  motive  reaches  full  tide.  In  the  cross  of 
Jesus,  God’s  mercy  and  human  need  meet.  The  most 
powerful  moral  motives  ever  released  in  human  life  are 
born  here. 


107 


If  you  want  to  effect  real  contrition  for  sin,  real  awaken- 
ing of  conscience  that  will  plough  through  long-settled 
habits,  real  joy  of  the  soul’s  new  birth,  real  personal  love 
for  the  Saviour,  real  self-sacrifice  in  living,  then  fearlessly 
preach  Him  crucified  and  risen  again.  The  four  Gospels 
tell  us  the  story  of  His  wonderful  life;  but  the  message 
that  changed  the  Roman  world  was  the  Gospel  of  a 
Christ  in  the  skies,  who  had  left  an  empty  tomb  behind 
Him,  and  who  carried  in  His  glorified  body  the  marks  of 
a nail  and  a spear.  The  death  of  Jesus  is  as  central  in 
His  career  as  He  is  central  in  human  history.  Fellow 
worker,  we  need  a message  of  arresting  power;  here  it  is. 
Inseparable  from  the  message  of  His  death  and  its  mean- 
ing is  that  of  His  present  indwelling  life.  He  lives  beyond 
time,  but  He  may  live  in  time.  He  died  for  us  that  He 
might  live  in  us.  Redemption  is  mightier  than  natural 
causation.  Divine  grace  is  stronger  than  habit.  Life  is 
reenforced  from  on  high.  Something  comes  across  from 
Him  to  us  that  is  life’s  finest  asset.  This  something 
quickens  the  conscience,  strengthens  the  will,  illuminates 
the  mind,  awakens  the  emotions,  and  creates  a perennial 
springtime  in  the  soul.  His  death  saves  us  from  the 
death  of  sin.  His  life  saves  us  from  the  life  of  sin.  For 
us  believers,  eternal  life  has  begun.  The  powers  of  the 
age  to  come  are  already  in  operation.  “Christ  died  for 
me”  issues  in  “Christ  liveth  in  me.”  Here  is  forgiveness 
for  the  past  as  complete  as  God  can  make  it,  and  help 
for  the  present  as  strong  as  the  full  tide  of  His  life. 

Here,  too,  is  hope  for  the  future  as  bright  and  sure  as 
a contract  of  grace  by  a faithful  God  can  make  it.  Life 
now  has  a rainbow  in  the  evening  sky,  our  anchor  is 
already  within  the  veil,  and  death  will  but  change  our 
post-office  address.  The  human  soul  is  built  on  the  scale 
of  two  worlds,  so  is  our  Gospel.  Our  front  windows  look 
out  across  the  river  into  a far  eternity.  Jesus  was  not 
ashamed  of  “the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him,”  and  did 

108 


not  hesitate  to  say,  “I  go  to  prepare  a place  for  you, 
that  where  I am  there  ye  may  be  also.”  In  the  face  of 
modern  science,  men  grow  timid  about  faith  in  the  future 
life.  Yet  most  folks  do  care  what  comes  after  the  funeral. 
It  is  ours  to  bring  this  longing  and  the  authority  of 
Christ  together.  Very  powerful  are  the  motives  that  can 
wisely  be  drawn  from  the  future.  The  true  evangelist 
will  not  hesitate  to  use  them  with  discriminating  cburage. 

Many  a life  that  has  never  felt  a sense  of  need  arising 
from  a crushing  weight  of  guilt,  does  feel  a pathetic  need 
arising  from  a sense  of  incompleteness,  inefficiency,  in- 
adequacy, just  a baffled  sense  of  not  getting  there.  To 
such  our  message  is  a Gospel.  Jesus  is  “God  with  us.” 
No  figure  of  speech,  this,  but  life’s  greatest  and  most 
practical  asset.  He  makes  life  worth  while. 

Closely  coupled  with  this  is  the  great  assurance  that 
He  will  enable  us  to  help  others.  He  shows  that  He  is 
adequate  by  making  us  adequate.  He  enables  us  to  get 
something  across  and  not  to  beat  the  air  with  pious 
wishing. 

But  the  message  has  a range  beyond  the  individual 
life.  The  cross  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  consti- 
tute the  foundations  of  a new  order  in  human  society 
known  as  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  purpose  of  God  is 
to  pervade  every  realm  of  human  thought  and  activity, 
every  custom  and  organization  of  human  society  with  the 
spirit  of  Christ.  Good  and  evil  are  incarnate  not  alone 
in  individuals  but  also  in  traditions,  ideals,  customs, 
organizations  and  groups.  Christ  came  not  simply  to 
redeem  men  but  society.  At  the  same  time  we  summon 
men  to  Christ,  we  summon  them  to  the  program  of  Christ 
without  reservations.  Nothing  worth  while  in  human 
life  is  outside  His  realm.  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
world. 


109 


The  Messenger 

What  kind  of  men  and  women  are  fitted  to  bring  such 
a message  to  their  fellows?  Other  things  being  equal,  they 
are  best  fitted  who  have  most  deeply  experienced  the 
power  of  Christ  in  their  own  lives.  Being  an  able  man 
with  a logical  mind,  a vivid  imagination  and  a ready  and 
pleasing  utterance  by  no  means  fits  one  to  convey  this 
message.  The  messenger  is  a witness  not  only  for  his 
Master,  but  of  what  his  Master  has  done  for  him.  It 
may  be  the  best  to  say  little  about  one’s  own  personal 
experience.  The  important  thing  is  that  it  be  there.  The 
fact  that  we  have  tried  it  out  and  found  the  reality  gives 
a moral  authority  in  our  words  that  nothing  else  can. 
“We  believe  and  therefore  we  speak.”  If  our  lives  are 
radiant  with  power  and  joy,  many  imperfections  will  be 
either  overcome  or  unnoticed.  One  who  ever  heard  Mr. 
Moody  at  his  best  knows  how  little  the  audience  cared 
about  his  errors  in  grammar  or  diction.  He  was  face  to 
face  with  reality,  his  soul  was  bathed  in  a vision,  he  was 
pouring  out  what  God  was  showing  to  him.  Criticism 
slunk  away  ashamed. 

Next  to  being  ourselves  the  subject  of  saving  grace 
and,  indeed,  as  an  outcome  of  it  we  should  be  hearty 
lovers  of  mankind.  We  do  people  good  as  we  are  gen- 
uinely interested  in  them.  There  is  but  one  royal  road 
to  this  love  for  men,  it  is  to  live  with  the  supreme  lover. 
Love  is  caught  not  taught.  You  cannot  expose  yourself 
to  it  constantly  under  right  conditions  but  it  will  take. 
His  tenderness  to  you  will  make  the  whole  race  look 
different.  You  will  not  need  to  pile  up  endearing  terms 
to  prove  your  good  will;  you  cannot  hide  it. 

Add  to  these  two,  live  above  reproach,  avoid  as  poison 
the  love  of  money  and  desire  for  reputation.  Be  above 
jealousy  of  fellow  workers.  Avoid  professionalism, 
posing  or  patronizing.  “What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst 
not  receive?”  Be  a true  democrat. 


110 


You  are  simply  a man  who  has  found  “the  pearl  of 
great  price,”  and  you  are  putting  a fellow  traveler  on  the 
clue  that  he  may  find  it  also.  Know  your  message.  Be 
better  acquainted  with  it  than  with  anything  else  in 
literature  or  life.  Hunt  for  illustrations  as  you  would 
for  gold.  The  best  ones  are  from  the  common  life.  If 
addressing  college  people  you  may  glean  them  from 
science,  art,  literature;  but  be  sure  that  for  all  classes  of 
people  the  homely  is  the  forceful  and  the  commonplace 
comes  closest  to  the  heart.  Be  like  a sheet  of  plate  glass 
that  lets  the  light  clear  through. 

The  Method 

Naturally  in  speaking  of  method  one  must  have  in 
mind  both  platform  and  personal  effort.  In  either  case 
rules  for  procedure  are  useless,  even  ridiculous.  Some 
general  observations  may  be  of  help.  (1)  Seek  to  secure 
in  the  church  what  for  want  of  a better  term  we  call  the 
evangelistic  atmosphere.  This  is  but  a way  of  saying, 
help  the  church  to  cultivate  the  shepherd  heart  and 
mind  of  Christ.  Do  not  wait  for  this  before  going  directly 
to  work.  Sometimes  a few  earnest  sermons  directed  to 
the  now  Christian  portion  of  the  community,  coupled 
with  a few  real  conversions,  will  awaken  in  the  church  the 
very  thing  we  are  longing  for.  (2)  Be  earnest  but  do  not 
let  it  degenerate  into  a harangue.  Be  a brother  speaking 
to  brothers.  Be  direct  in  appeal,  but  never  take  ad- 
vantage to  embarrass.  (3)  In  every  address  make  the  way 
to  God  through  Christ  plain.  Appeal  to  the  best  in  your 
hearers.  Take  for  granted  in  spite  of  their  sinfulness  that 
conscience  is  still  alive  and  that  they  often  long  for  the 
better  life.  (4)  Give  opportunity  for  acknowledgment  of 
Christ  openly,  but  do  not  publicly  divide  your  audience 
into  saints  and  sinners.  If  you  do,  you  will  manufacture 
more  cheap  hypocrites  than  anything  else  and  repel  the 
very  people  who  would  be  worth  most  to  the  King.  (5) 


111 


In  personal  approach  be  a friend,  respectful,  sympathetic, 
humble.  Do  not  try  to  take  charge  of  another’s  life. 
Rather  offer  to  share  the  knowledge  of  the  good  thing 
you  have  found.  Be  transparent  and  sincere.  Assume 
nothing  you  do  not  feel.  Your  friend  will  be  much  more 
conscious  of  what  you  are  than  of  what  you  say. 

Above  all  things,  however,  let  us  go  to  work  and  keep 
everlastingly  at  it.  The  worst  mistake  is  to  shirk.  You 
may  not  mine  the  richest  ore,  but  mine  some.  What  is 
wanted  is  not  a spurt  but  a spirit,  not  a dash  but  a cam- 
paign. This  is  the  very  core  of  our  great  five-year  program. 
The  spirit  that  will  lead  us  into  this  work  and  keep  us  in 
it  till  we  master  this  higher  art  will  at  the  same  time  lift 
us  over  the  bog  of  selfishness  and  self-seeking  out  into  the 
deep  ocean  of  God’s  fullness,  and  there  shall  not  fail  for 
us  one  good  thing  of  all  that  He  has  promised. 


No.  215.  Ed.  1.  150  M.  11-19. 


112 


